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“l JUST LET THEM GO FOR A TEENY WEENY MINUTE,” SAID DICK, “AND AWAY 
THEY WENT !” 


WONDERFUL 
LAND qTVP 


OLIVE ROBERTS BARTON 


DECORATIONS AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY 

NEELY McCOY 


NEW 



YORK 


GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 



Copyright, 1918, 

By George H. Doran Company 



OCT 2i 1918 


Printed in the United States of America 



©CI.A506i>80 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTEB FAOB 

I The Apple Tree Elevator ....... 11 

II The Land of Lost Balloons 23 

III The Runaway Feathers 37 

IV Mist Land 53 

V The Land of Everything 69 

VI The Land of Good Smells . 85 

VII Thistledown Land 97 

VIII Soap Bubble Land 109 

IX The Land of Lost Kites 123 

X Happy Town 137 


V 



ILLUSTRATIONS 


“I Just Let Them Go for a Teeny Weeny Minute” 

Frontispiece 

PAGS 

“He Was Holding Tightly to Rose’s Hand and Help- 
ing Her Over the Rough Ground ” 13 

“Suddenly the Little House Began to Move” ... 17 

“ ‘Hello,’ They Said, Glad to Greet Their Old 
Friends” 25 

“The Fourth-of-July Balloons Were Getting Patched 
Up” 33 

“That Big Pillow Has Been Naughty and He’s Getting 
A Spanking” 39 

“So Many Birds Were Singing” 44 

“ ‘We Bring the Injured Birds Up Here. How Joy- 
ously They Sing!’ ” 47 

“They Sat Down AND Leaned Against THE Tree” . . 55 

“When Pete Blew the Whistle, More Steam Fairies 
Came Out of the Top” 60 

“The Rain Fairies” 65 

“Wisp Was A Sight TO Behold” 71 

“ ‘I’ve Come to Apologise,’ Said the Stove” .... 79 

“A Queer Little Fellow That Looked Exactly Like a 
Nose” 87 

“So They Followed the Rose Past the Pretty Houses 

OF THE Flowers” 90 

vii 


viii Illustrations 

PAGE 

“Then There Was Dancing AND Lemonade” .... 93 

“The Children Saw Wisp Sitting on a Daisy, Smoking 
His Pipe” 99 

“The Little Dandelion Seeds Were Looking Very 
Nervous” 102 

“ ‘This Is the School for Flying Seeds* ” .... 105 

“A Little Girl AND A Basin OF Soapy Water” . . . Ill 

“Wisp, AND Even THE Cat, Was Smiling” . . .118 

“ ‘You Just Stad There AND Stare AT Be’ ” .... 125 

“They’ve Been Fighting Again, Your Majesty” . . 128 

“On the Front of One Was a Letter ‘S,’ on the Front of 
Other A ‘W’” 131 

“ ‘O, Ho, Ho,’ Laughed the King” 139 

“She Kissed the King So Impulsively That His Crown 
Rolled Off” 145 


CHAPTER r 


THE APPLE TREE ELEVATOR 


THE WONDERFUL LAND OF UP 


Chapter I: The Apple Tree Elevator 

R ose, Dick and Jim Dandy had run off, that is. 
Rose and Dick had run off and Jim Dandy 
followed. Jim Dandy was a cat, a great grey 
creature with a tail as large as a fox’s, long soft fur that 
you wanted to rub your cheek against, solemn blue eyes, 
white whiskers, and a tiny bunch of white hair on his 
chin (if cats have chins) which made him look more 
solemn than ever. It may seem queer for a cat to have 
long hair and blue eyes, but Jim Dandy was a Persian 
cat, whose real name would almost reach around the 
world it was so long, at least it would take up a line on 
my typewriter, I’m sure ; but as nobody has any time to 
waste these days he was called Jim Dandy for short — 
sometimes just Dandy. 

But here I am telling you all about the cat first when 
you must be more interested in Rose and Dick. Rose 
was a little curly-headed girl and Dick was her brother. 
Rose looked exactly like her name, for she was round and 
dimpled and rosy and always happy, and someway I 
think happy people are like roses, don’t you? because 
everybody likes to look at them. Her hair, as I said 
before, was curly and a beautiful golden colour like that 
of a fairy princess. Her eyes were big and blue. 

11 


12 The Wonderful Land of Up 

Dick was taller and straighter, and held his shoulders 
like his daddy who was a soldier. N o curls and dimples 
for him, no sir! He looked like, well — ^just like a real 
boy I should say, and that’s the finest thing, I think. 
His eyes were brown, so was his hair, which was quite 
short. 

Just now he was holding tightly to Rose’s hand and 
helping her over the rough ground. ‘‘Come on. Rose,” 
he said, looking back anxiously over his shoulder. “Let’s 
run faster! I’m not going to any photograph man and 
have my picture taken to-day — it’s too hot. Besides that 
old iron thing hurts the back of my head. Don’t you 
wish there was another circus!” 

“Yes I do,” agreed Rose promptly. “My, couldn’t 
that old elephant eat a lot of peanuts !” 

“And didn’t that funny animal with a horn on his 
nose have a big mouth!” exclaimed Dick. 

“And didn’t that spotted one have a long neck!” said 
Rose, laughing at the memory. “He must see every- 
thing in the world !” 

“And did you see those bears having a really, truly 
dinner party!” said the little boy excitedly. 

“And the monkey riding a pig!” cried his sister. 
“That was best of all.” 

“Don’t you wish we had some more of that pink lem- 
onade?” went on Dick. 

“And balloons !” reminded Rose reproachfully. Aunt 
Margaret had bought each of them a beauty and it was 
Dick’s fault that they had disappeared. 

He looked up at the sky consciously now. “I won- 


The Apple Tree Elevator 13 

der where they went?” he said, stopping. “I wish I 
hadn’t tied them together. I just let go for a teeny 
weeny minute, and away they went. It almost seemed 
as though they were waiting to get away, they flew up 
in the air so fast, I wonder if they’ll ever come down!” 
“Mother said they wouldn’t,” answered Rose sadly. 



He was holding tightly to Rosens hand and helping her 
over the rough ground. 


“Then, where do all the lost balloons go? They can’t 
keep on going up, up, up all the time and never stop, 
can they?” 

This was too much for Rose. “I don’t know,” she 
said slowly, rubbing her eyes with a moist little fist. The 
day was warm and the rough ground tired her sturdy 
little legs. Besides it was almost nap time, for in the 
country where everybody got up very early. Rose and 


14 The Wonderful Land of Up 

Dick were put to bed every afternoon for an hour s rest. 
“Where are we going, Dickie?” she yawned. 

“Let’s go to the orchard; Aunt Margaret and Mother 
won’t think of looking there. It will be too late for 
our bath anyway, and they can’t dress us up to take 
us to town. I don’t want my picture taken,” he de- 
clared again, and then like Rose he, too, yawned before 
he knew it. But he had a soldier’s spirit and was not 
going to be beaten by a little thing like sleep. He gave 
Rose’s hand a tug and started on again. “Come on,” 
he said, “it isn’t far now. I can smell the blossoms.” 

Sure enough, coming out of the high bushes by the 
fence they saw the orchard right before them, all white 
and pink with a million lovely blossoms. It was May 
and all the world was beautiful. 

“How pretty everything is, Dick!” exclaimed Rose, 
suddenly forgetting how sleepy she was. “It’s just like 
fairyland, isn’t it I Do you suppose there are any fairies 
here?” she whispered excitedly. 

“No, of course not,” scoffed Dick. “There aren’t 
such things as fairies. Butch Flannigan told me so.” 
Butch Flannigan was the big boy who lived back of 
Dick’s house in the city. 

Rose looked ready to cry. “Oh, I wish there were, 
don’t you! They’re such pretty little things and they 
make such beautiful things happen. Aren’t you sorry 
there aren’t any fairies, Dickie?” 

“N-n-yes,” he admitted finally, looking around to 
make sure there was no one but Rose to hear. Isn’t it 
funny that boys rather hate to acknowledge that they 
like fairies? I wonder why it is! 


The Apple Tree Elevator 15 

They were in the orchard now and the trees made a 
great pink and white roof over their heads. Here and 
there little patches of blue sky peeped through, and 
birds of all kinds flew gaily about among the branches ; 
dear little yellow orioles, big fat robins, blue birds — oh, 
just all the kinds of birds you can think of almost, the 
daddy birds making a great fuss as they chattered to 
the mother birds sitting on the eggs in the nests. 

Suddenly Dick thought of something and dropped to 
his knees. “Dandy,’’ he said to the cat, “the birds don’t 
like you. They think you will hurt them. You’ll have 
to be very good now and stay oif the trees.” 

But Dandy did not answer of course. 

“Oh, I wish cats could talk !” cried Rose, little think- 
ing that her remark was overheard by some one else 
besides her companion. In the meantime Dick’s sharp 
eyes had suddenly discovered something and he was 
staring with all his might right up into the big apple 
tree over their heads. 

“Look, Rose, look!” he cried. “There’s a little house 
up there! I’ll bet it’s the one Daddy made when, he was 
a little boy. Don’t you remember. Grandma told us 
about it yesterday. Come on, let’s climb up and see 
what it’s like inside. Come on. Dandy, you may come 
too if you don’t hurt the birds. Hurrah !” 

Now you may think little girls can’t climb trees, but 
that’s because you don’t know Rose; for Rose did climb 
this one, you see, as quickly as her brother or the cat. 
She had always been with boys and played with them, 
so she couldn’t very well help learning to run and jump 
and climb and do all sorts of things just as they did. 


i6 The Wonderful Land of Up 

Of course, apple trees are sort of crooked and lumpy, 
you know, and there are always good places to put your 
feet, which helps some, but anyway they all got up to 
the little house in no time, and crawled inside, and there 
they were, as snug as could be, hidden away from the 
whole wide world except the birds and bees — and some- 
thing else. But I’m not going to tell you about that 
just yet. 

The little house had a door and there was a window 
on each side so they could look around. ‘Tsn’t it just 
great!” cried Dick, who liked to use grown-up words 
like his daddy. “Aren’t you glad we came!” 

“Yes,” said Rose, eagerly examining the little place 
where pictures and names had long ago been carved on 
almost every board. “What do you s’pose this thing’s 
for?” She had discovered an old iron handle fastened 
to the floor — a brake off a farm wagon is what it was, 
although the children didn’t know it — and wiggled it 
back and forth curiously. 

Dick pulled it back and forth, too, but without any 
result. “I don’t know!” he gave up finally, letting it go 
and looking around. He yawned again; so did Rose. 
They were getting very sleepy. Dandy had already 
curled himself up on some old straw in a corner and was 
taking a nap. 

“Let’s stay here all the time,” suggested Rose. “Big 
houses don’t smell beautiful like this, do they?” 

“No,” answered Dick sleepily, sitting down on the 
floor and yawning again. Rose curled up beside him, 
her mass of yellow curls on his shoulder. 

“I hear something a’ buzzing,” she said drowsily. 


The Apple Tree Elevator 


17 



Suddenly the little house began to move. 


“It’s the bees,” explained Dick, “after the honey in 
the blossoms.” 

Away over the fields came the faint tinkle of a cow- 
bell; that, with the twittering of the birds and the lazy 
droning of the bees were the only soimds in that great 
wonderful pink and white world where Rose and Dick 
and Jim Dandy lay hiding. 

Tinkle — chirp — ^buzz! Tinkle — chirp — ^buzz! How 
quiet the world was; how comfortable and quiet! 

Suddenly the little house began to move, slowly at 
first and then more quickly. Up, up in the air it went 
with a soft buzzing sound exactly like the elevator in 
the big store in town where Mother had bought them 
new hats. Why, it was an elevator! There was the bell 
ringing, some one wanting to get on likely, and there 


i8 The Wonderful Land of Up 

was the thing to run it with and everything. Dick 
knew now what the queer iron thing was for, the little 
house was a really, truly elevator after all, and they were 
having a beautiful ride right up into the sky. How 
stupid of them not to have noticed before that it wasn’t 
a playhouse at all ! 

But the most wonderful thing of all was the person 
who was running it. He had suddenly appeared from 
nowhere and was now pushing the iron handle this way 
and that and finally stopped the car altogether. He 
turned around then, and when the children saw his face 
they were still more surprised, for if his clothes were 
odd, his face, too, was certainly quite as unusual. In 
fact, the little man was very queer looking indeed, and 
yet they liked him instantly, his little peering eyes had 
such a kindly look, and the lines on his face showed that 
he was accustomed to smiling. 

“Hello, children!” he said in the kindest voice in the 
world, I mean in the tree, or in the sky, or wherever 
they were. Really, since that elevator began to move 
I’m all mixed up. I just don’t know where they were 
exactly. You see when fairies begin to take a hand 
in things, we world people don’t know so much as we 
think we do. 

“Hello, children!” repeated the fairy. Oh, yes, he 
was a fairy all right, even if he wasn’t beautiful. Rose 
was wrong about them all being pretty. Fairies be- 
lieve in the saying, “Handsome is as handsome does!” 
You’ve heard that, haven’t you? And so long as they 
are doing nice things they don’t care a fig how they 
look, although later the children discovered that the little 


The Apple Tree Elevator 19 

man didn’t like to be considered ugly either. He was 
really quite sensitive about his appearance. 

“How do you do,” said Rose and Dick and Dandy 
all together; yes, indeed, Dandy too! The little girl 
and boy were startled to hear the cat speak and turning 
quickly were still more surprised to find that he had 
suddenly grown to almost their own size and was stand- 
ing on his two hind legs as naturally as though he had 
done so all his life. 

“I am glad to see that you are more polite than I 
am,” said the little man, “but I always say ‘Hello’ so 
people won’t be afraid of me. Now I’ll tell you my 
name. It’s Wisp.” And he made a deep bow. “I’m 
general handy man to His Majesty the King of the 
Wonderful Land of Up, and I was sent to take you on 
an adventure, so if you’ll just be careful to keep your 
heads inside, we’ll start right away. Ding, dong, all 
aboard!” 

And as Wisp moved the brake the little apple tree ele- 
vator shot up into the wonderful world of adventure, 
to the children’s amazement and delight. 

















CHAPTER II 

THE LAND OF LOST BALLOONS 



Chapter'll: The Land of Lost Balloons 


T he little elevator shot up through a shaft of apple 
blossoms. Rose and Dick supposed it would 
reach the top of the tree and then stop, but not so, 
they kept on going. But the tree, too, seemed to be 
getting taller all the time just as Jack’s beanstalk did, 
and whenever the children looked out of a little window 
or out of the door, there were the branches with their 
tiny green leaves and lovely flowers, all around them. 

But when they looked down through the spaces be- 
tween the boughs, then they could see the great world 
below getting farther and farther away, the orchard. 
Grandma’s big white house with its red chimneys, the 
lake, and the town far away with its church steeples 
sticking up like little sharp needles. For everything 
looked little now. 

The view made Dick thoughtful — surely he had seen 
something like it before. He tried and tried to think 
what it was and then suddenly he remembered. ‘T 
know what it looks like. Rose, it’s the 'Bird’s Eye View 
of Silverport,’ that hangs over Grandma’s writing desk. 
Don’t you know we always wondered why things looked 
so little but we know now, don’t we?” 

"Does it make you dizzy up so high?” asked Wisp. 
"We haven’t far to go now.” 

"Not so very,” Dick answered for all three. "Where 
— where are we going, please?” 

23 


24 The Wonderful Land of Up 

“To the very place you were talking about this after- 
noon/’ explained their new friend, “to the Land of Lost 
Balloons. Perhaps we’ll find yours there, in fact I’m 
quite sure we shall.” 

“Oh, goody!” cried Rose. 

But boy-like, Dick was curious. He never could get 
over asking questions, although his mother had told him 
it was a bad habit to be too inquisitive. “Are there any 
more places like that up here?” he asked. 

To his surprise it was Jim Dandy who answered. 
“Of course there are, lots of them. Do you suppose the 
one Jack’s giant lived in was the only one? I have 
several friends who have been around a bit, Puss-In- 
Boots, and The Cat- Who- Went-To-London-To- See- 
the-Queen, also The Cat-With-the-Fiddle, all of whom 
have travelled a great deal and told me about it. Of 
course The Cat-With-the-Fiddle hasn’t travelled much 
himself, but his bosom friend, The Cow-That-Jumped- 
Over-the-Moon, told him there were many countries up 
in the air and it was a shame the children didn’t know 
more about them.” 

Wisp was nodding his head rapidly with approval, 
he was glad to hear the cat talk so. “You’re quite right 
about it, Jim Dandy,” he said, “and that’s one reason 
why His Imperial Majesty, the King of the Wonderful 
Land of Up, sent me down to the earth to get you. He 
was tired of being neglected by the children. All the 
story books are full of forest fairies, and water fairies, 
and flower fairies, and I’ve even heard of corn-meal 
fairies and coal-box fairies, but did you ever hear of up- 
in-the-air fairies? No siree Bob! And after you know 


The Land of Lost Balloons 


25 



“Hello,” they said, glad to greet their old friends. 


a thing or two about us you’ll wonder how in the world 
you could ever manage to get along without our help. 
Now don’t be surprised, please, at anything you may 
see. We’re there now. Remember that in fairyland 
magical things are likely to happen at any minute.” 
Wisp gave the iron handle a jerk and the elevator 
stopped. Then he stepped out of the little door and 
motioned for the children to follow him. Their feet 
had scarcely touched the ground, however, when the 
apple tree disappeared, blossoms, elevator and all. 

Rose and Dick didn’t know which surprised them 
most, the wonderful country in which they now found 
themselves or the disappearance of the tree. They must 
have looked very funny, for Wisp laughed. ‘T sup- 


26 The Wonderful Land of Up 

pose you’re wondering how you’ll ever get home again,” 
he said, “but don’t worry. I told you not to be sur- 
prised at anything you saw.” 

“Or don’t see,” said the cat meaningly. 

“Say, you are sensible, aren’t you?” said Wisp admir- 
ingly. 

“We Persians are considered very wise,” answered 
Dandy. “It’s a relief to be able to speak one’s mind 
at last and to be of a respectable size so one is noticed.” 

“Yes, I suppose it is kind of nice,” answered Wisp. 
“We try to treat everybody the same in the Land of 
Up. Fairies are always that way, though ; that’s where 
we get our name, because we’re fair.” 

“How pretty it is here!” said Rose, looking around. 
“Such pretty trees and flowers! But aren’t there any 
houses or people, Mr. Wisp?” 

“Yes,” answered Wisp, “we are going to the town, 
and then you’ll see lots of people. They will be send- 
ing for us soon now; we’ll not have to walk.” His 
eyes twinkled as he spoke, but if he had any secret he 
did not tell what it was. “Say, children,” he asked, 
changing the subject, “do I look all right? I got my 
hands soiled on that brake and then forgot and scratched 
my nose. I sort of think I see a black spot,” and Wisp 
tried to see the end of it, his nose I mean, which of 
course made his eyes cross and he looked ever so funny. 
It made the children laugh. 

“You’ll stay that way, Mr. Wisp, you mustn’t do 
that,” cried Dick. “Mother won’t let us, not even in 
fun.” 

“No, I suppose I shouldn’t,” sighed Wisp, uncrossing 


The Land of Lost Balloons 27 

his eyes again and reaching for his handkerchief. “But 
then I'm so ugly it wouldn’t make much difference, 
would it?” There was a note of wistfulness in his voice 
which both children noticed instantly, and they cried 
together, “You’re not ugly. Wisp.” 

“You’re beautiful!” added Bose, which was kind of 
her, considering that Wisp had a long sharp nose, a 
very sharp chin that stuck out a good bit, and rather 
crooked legs. His short trousers and jacket were pur- 
ple, his shirt a sort of lemon yellow, which any one will 
tell you is hard on the complexion, and his cap purple 
and yellow also, which, of course, very few people can 
wear becomingly. 

Instantly Wisp’s face brightened. 

“Oh, I’m so glad you think so,” he said gratefully. 
“I feel much better now.” 

“And as I come of a royal family,” spoke up Jim 
Dandy, “I admire the colour of your suit. I adore 
purple.” 

“This is delightful!” exclaimed Wisp, who was now 
beaming with pleasure. “I never had so many compli- 
ments before in my life.” Then he stopped suddenly 
and listened intently. “Here they come now,” he said 
mysteriously. 

“Who?” asked Dick. 

“The searchers!” said Wisp. 

“The searchers?” 

“Yes, they’re going to look in all your pockets and 
over your clothes.” 

“But — but we didn’t take anything!” stammered the 
little boy, and Rose looked ready to cry. 


28 The Wonderful Land of Up 

Wisp winked one eye. “No, but you might have 
concealed weapons. You wouldn’t want to kill any one, 
would you?” 

“Weapons?” exclaimed Dick. “You mean swords 
and guns and things. We haven’t any!” He was get- 
ting very indignant. 

“Good gracious no, of course you haven’t!” agreed 
the fairy, “but you don’t kill balloons with swords and 
guns. It’s pins. You are to be searched for pins and 
matches you know.” 

“Oh!” cried Dick and Rose and even Jim Dandy, 
much relieved. But there was no time to say anything 
more for two balloons came running up just then, yes 
running, for they had arms and legs and round jolly 
faces. Instantly the children recognised the balloons 
they had lost. 

“Hello!” they said, glad to see their old friends. 

“Hello!” answered the balloons. “We are awfully 
glad to see you. It was kind of Wisp to bring you to 
our country and we hope you’ll enjoy it, but everybody 
who comes here must be searched. We have been ap- 
pointed chief searchers for to-day, and I’m afraid we’ll 
have to go through your pockets. You see pins and 
matches are not allowed in this land, for circus balloons 
like us collapse and die at the very sight of a pin almost,” 
here the balloons shuddered, “and Fourth-of-July paper 
balloons simply blaze with fury at the sight of a match. 
Here Wispy,” they went on, “you smooth Dandy’s sharp 
nails, will you?” And the red balloon handed the fairy 
a piece of sand paper. Even files were not allowed 
there, you see. 


The Land of Lost Balloons 29 

‘‘Why did you run away?” asked Rose while her own 
blue balloon was searching her everywhere for pins, 
and the red one was searching Dick for matches. 

“Oh, we just got homesick,” said the balloon, “so 
we thought we’d come back. Besides we thought we had 
given you enough pleasure for ten cents, I mean for one 
day; and once Dick squeezed Reddy Bounce here so 
hard he came near to bursting. Besides when you 
dragged me over the sharp stones I thought I’d — 
What’s that, Reddy?” For the other balloon had called 
something. “No matches? All right. I didn’t find 
any pins either except a safety pin in her — ahem — 
panty-waist. If everybody’s ready then we’ll start for 
the city of Balloonatick.” And the blue balloon whis- 
tled shrilly on two of his fingers. 

Then the children understood why they wouldn’t have 
to walk, as Wisp had said, for suddenly a big Fourth- 
of-July elephant balloon came running up with a saddle 
on his back, and following him was a pig, also saddled, 
and a fish; the fish couldn’t run as it had no feet, but 
it could go very fast by moving its paper tail and 
fins. 

Then Wisp and Blue Jumper and Reddy Bounce 
helped Rose onto the elephant, Dick onto the pig, and 
Dandy onto the fish. The fish trembled dreadfully 
when it saw the cat, but Wisp whispered something in 
its ear and it became quiet right away. 

Then they all went down the road toward the city of 
Balloonatick. Wisp and the circus balloons did not 
ride, but Wisp was a fairy, you see, and the circus bal- 
loons could bounce, so they all made very good time. 


30 The Wonderful Land of Up 

On the way they passed a forest with the queerest 
fruit you ever saw hanging on the trees, and it was mak- 
ing the most dreadful noise — the fruit I mean. Well, 
you’ll never believe me when I tell you what that noise 
was. It was the babies crying, the balloon babies. 
That’s the way they grew, like oranges. And the ba- 
bies, or squawkers, some people call them, were all yell- 
ing at the top of their lungs. 

Suddenly Wisp called out: “Halt everybody.” And 
when they had stopped he explained that nobody was 
allowed to go faster than a walk through those woods 
for fear of shaking the babies off the trees before they 
were ripe. ^‘They never grow any more after they fall 
off,” he said, “and they make such a noise they can’t 
stand them in the city. That’s why they’re sent to the 
earth children to play with, although I understand that 
down there parents think they are dreadful things too.” 

The little travellers thought it a funny sight to see 
all colours and sizes of balloons on trees. It reminded 
them of Christmas, for the many coloured balloons 
looked like ornaments on a Christmas tree. Suddenly 
a big fat yellow balloon, which happened to be ripe that 
minute, fell right on top of Dick’s head, then bounced 
off and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. 
But in an instant there was a loud bang which made 
everybody jump. 

Wisp took off his hat like people do when something 
sad happens. 

“What are you doing that for? And what was that 
noise?” asked Dick. 

“It was the balloon you saw just now,” explained 


The Land of Lost Balloons 31 

the fairy. “He hung on too long and got overripe. He 
has just exploded. It’s too badl” 

They left the forest of squawking babies and growing 
balloons then, and continued their journey to the city 
of Balloonatick, where they got off their steeds at the 
gate and were admitted by the gate-keeper, another big 
balloon that looked like a watermelon, after they had 
given the watchword which Wisp had told them. 

“Thingumabob!” said Dick. 

“Thingumabob!” said Rose. 

“Thingumabob!” said Dandy, coming last. 

“Pass !” said the watermelon, putting down his spear 
and turning the big key in the gate, which instantly 
swung open. 

Well, Balloonatick was certainly a queer town and 
the children were much impressed. At first they 
thought Wisp had made a mistake and brought them 
to the wrong place, for there were not any houses at 
all, that is, no houses like you and I live in. Instead 
there were only rows of enormous balloons where the 
houses should have been. 

But Wisp soon explained that these balloons were 
the houses themselves. You see birds don’t have houses 
like ours, or at least not very often, unless some one 
builds one for them; and neither do the bunnies out in 
the woods. They have their houses in the ground. And 
foxes, and lions, and bees, and caterpillars all have 
different kinds of houses from ours, don’t they? So 
why shouldn’t balloons have, too? 

The balloons had numbers on them and the streets had 


32 The Wonderful Land of Up 

sign posts just as ours do, except that the names would 
be odd ones for our streets. There were Gas Street, and 
Empty Street, and Air Street, and Rubber Street, and 
a lot more like that. 

In the middle of a big square place was a big balloon 
marked “Hospital,” and when Wisp asked the children 
if they should like to go inside, they replied eagerly that 
they thought it would be very nice indeed. 

And what a queer place it was! All the poor torn 
Fourth-of-July balloons were getting patched up for 
next time, which wasn’t so very far away now. And 
as everybody said there wouldn’t be many fire-works 
on account of the war, the old balloons would have to 
do. 

Pigs were getting new tails, elephants new trunks, 
rabbits new ears, and fishes new fins; and all the little 
stick out places that get torn off on trees and telegraph 
wires, and even the scorched places in their sides, were 
being fixed as good as new. 

The little balloon people were very hospitable and in- 
sisted on showing the visitors everything. They didn’t 
seem surprised that Jim Dandy should be so large, 
for in their land all the animals were the same size, 
so the cat was just right. In fact, he seemed to be 
enjoying himself immensely. 

“I think,” said Wisp finally, “that we’d better be 
off. It’s getting late.” 

“All right,” said the children obediently, although 
they hated to leave such an interesting place. It was 
so different from anything down on the earth. 


The Land of Lost Balloons 33 

“Come and see us some time,” said Rose politely to 
the balloons. “I’m sure we’ve had a very nice time.” 

“Some of us will be down next circus day, thank you,” 
cried Blue Jumper and Reddy Bounce, waving their 
hands good-bye. 

“I’m sure it’s all most remarkable,” said Jim Dandy 
gravely, making his best bow, “and thank you very 
much.” 



The Fourth-of-July balloons were getting patched up. 


“Bye-bye!” said Wisp to the balloons. “I won’t be 
around again for a few days. I’ve got a job that will 
keep me busy for a while. His Imperial Majesty has 
ordered me to take these dear children to see everything 
in the Wonderful Land of Up. We thought we’d begin 
on you to-day. Well, good-bye again.” 

And in the twinkling of an eye the little apple tree 
suddenly appeared, elevator and all, and before they 
knew it Rose and Dick and the cat were descending 


34 The Wonderful Land of Up 

quite rapidly to the earth, and in about two shakes of a 
dice box, they found themselves in the orchard again. 

But when they went to thank the little fairy for their 
adventure, he had disappeai^ed completely and look 
where they would he was nowhere to be seen. There 
were only the birds and the bees, and far away the 
tinkle of a cow bell in the still quiet air. 


CHAPTER III 


THE RUNAWAY FEATHERS 





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Chapter III: The Runaway Feathers 


O klahoma, the coloured woman who came in 
to help Nora and Chris clean Grandma Salis- 
bury’s house, was out in the yard beating pillows 
with a big stick. Pillows of all shapes and sizes were 
hung on a clothes line stretched between two big maple 
trees, a whole family of them; the granddaddy of them 
all, a big, fat bolster, was doubled over the line, poor 
thing, right on his stomach, and when Oklahoma came 
along with her dusting stick and hit him. Rose and 
Dick cried out with delight: “Oh look. Mother, that 
big pillow has been naughty and he’s getting a spank- 
ing.” 

They watched each pillow getting its share of the 
trouncing, clapping their hands and shouting delightedly 
when the feathers flew. 

“Dey’s all too sleepy,” said the coloured woman, beat- 
ing with all her might. ‘T guess dis ere ’ll wake ’em 
up all righty. Dey’s been dreamin’ long enough.” 

The pillows swelled and puffed out with indignation. 
Have you ever noticed that feather pillows always do 
that if you beat them, especially if the sun is shining? 
And have you ever thought why it was? Well, I’m 
going to tell you. It’s the little sleepy feathers inside 
waking up, just as Oklahoma said, and all crowding 
each other trying to get out into the fresh air and sun- 
37 


38 The Wonderful Land of Up 

shiner Of course if there is a hole or a rip anywhere, 
some of them do get out, and away they go fluttering 
and dancing along the sunbeams right up into the air. 

And so it happened that as Rose and Dick were 
watching, a whole lot of little white feathers went danc- 
ing and sailing and fluttering away over the tops of 
the trees. 

“I wonder where all the feathers go?” remarked Rose 
curiously, watching them until they were out of sight. 

“Why, they just go up!” said Dick. And as the 
words left his lips the children looked at each other sud- 
denly; the same thought had occurred to them both. If 
the feathers went up could it be possible that they too 
went to a magic land like the balloons? But they wisely 
said nothing about it. 

When Oklahoma had finished. Grandma came out 
and going along the line of pillows looked closely at 
them all. “I was wondering, children,” she said, “since 
you have taken such a sudden notion to play in that 
little old house in the apple tree, if I can’t find a couple 
of old pillows for you, so you can take your naps out 
there if you get sleepy these warm days. And Chris 
is going to take a ladder out, so you can get up without 
wearing out your clothes climbing.” 

Again the children looked at each other wondering 
what their little fairy friend would say to this, but again 
they said nothing. Weren’t they wise little people 1 

That afternoon when they went out to the orchard, 
they found the ladder as Grandma had said. But they 
viewed it with discontent. “Let’s take it away,” whis- 
pered Dick, “we don’t need it.” And truly enough the 


The Runaway Feathers 39 

ladder did look out of place, and I know exactly how 
the children felt about it. 

“All right, it’s lots more fun climbing anyway,” 
agreed Rose. 

So pulling and tugging with all their might they 



That big pillow has been naughty and he’s getting a 
spanking 


finally got the ladder away from the tree and laid it 
in the long grass where it couldn’t be seen. 

Then they climbed up to the playhouse to find there 
also that Grandma had not forgotten what she had 
promised, the two pillows with clean white covers and a 
clean old comfort to lie on besides. 

“Looks just like a bed,” said Dick discontentedly. 

“Yes it does,” declared Rose crossly. “Let’s throw 
them all out.” And I’m sorry to have to say that Div?k 


40 The Wonderful Land of Up 

agreed so heartily that he didn’t wait to reply but 
gathered the pillows up in his arms and was just about to 
pitch them overboard, when suddenly Wisp, their fairy 
friend, stood before them. 

“Hold on there,” he cried, “what are you doing?” 

“We don’t want these pillows out here,” explained 
Dick, a little ashamed. “We’re not babies, and they 
make this playhouse look like a bed.” 

“Well, don’t dump them out. If you just knew all 
I know, those pillows are needed very badly in a cer- 
tain place; and while I think of it, where’s Jim Dandy, 
the cat?” 

“We had salmon for lunch,” said Dick, “and he’s 
so greedy for it that after he had his share he went 
out and hunted up the can. He’s got his head in it 
licking the sides for fear he misses something.” 

Wisp laughed. “I was just going to say that as I 
was thinking of taking you children on a little trip with 
me to-day to a place where they are afraid of cats, it 
may be just as well that he is so happily occupied, hav- 
ing such a good time, I mean. For we won’t need to 
worry about leaving him then. I hate to be mean to an 
animal. Oh, my goodness gracious alive, mercy me! 
Look, there he is now.” And suddenly the children saw 
Dandy rushing through the orchard with the salmon 
can still on his head. He was bumping into things and 
shaking his head and yowling at a terrible rate, and 
altogether seemed to be having an awful time. 

“Dandy! Dandy! Dandy!” screamed Rose. “Oh, 
he’ll die! Help him somebody!” 


The Runaway Feathers 41 

‘ I’ll go down and pull it oif,” said Dick, preparing 
to slide down the tree. 

‘‘No, I have a plan,” said Wisp. “We can take him 
along if he’s muzzled, so I’ll just say a few magical 
words and change the salmon can into a muzzle. ‘Zim, 
zam, zickery, zoo!’ ” he said, waving his hands. “There! 
How’s that?” 

For suddenly the terrible can on poor Dandy’s head 
was changed into a nice comfortable wire muzzle. He 
could see now, and breathe, and even yawn and lick his 
whiskers, but he couldn’t eat nor wash his face. But 
he would do very well until supper time. 

“I’m sorry to have to do it,” apologised Wisp to the 
cat, “but really it is the only way I can take you to the 
place we are going. However, if you would rather stay 
at home, I can say those same words backward and it 
will come off right away.” 

“Oh, no!” said Dandy hastily. “I rather like it. I 
always wondered what a bird cage was like from inside 
out instead of outside in, and the canary has tried to tell 
me without actually showing me. But now I know. 
I’ll be very glad to go with you.” 

“Come on up, then,” cried the children, and Dandy 
scrambled up beside them in no time. Before they 
knew it Wisp had moved the iron handle, and the little 
playhouse was whizzing up through the apple branches. 

They passed Balloon Land on their way, but 
didn’t stop this time. After awhile the elevator slowed 
down and Wisp called: “Here we are at last, come 
along everybody. But we mustn’t forget the pillows.” 
So Dick picked up one and Wisp took the other on his 


42 The Wonderful Land of Up 

back (that’s where fairies always carry things, you 
know) and Wisp said some magical words, so that the 
apple tree, elevator and all disappeared exactly as they 
had done before. 

“Can you guess where we are?” asked Wisp. 

“I hear some birds singing,” said Rose, standing quite 
still and listening. 

“And I hear a buzzing like bees,” said Dick, 

“No, the buzzing is not bees,” laughed Wisp, “al- 
though it sounds like that. That’s the factory wheels 
going round. But Rose really does hear birds singing, 
they are all so glad to get well again. I see that I’ll 
have to tell you as you’ll never guess it in the world. 
We are in the Land of Runaway Feathers. This is 
where all the loose feathers fly to when they get away. 
But my goodness, if here isn’t Mr. Crane himself 1 He 
must have known we were coming.” 

Sure enough up came a big white bird much taller 
than either of the children or the fairy. He was a 
funny looking old fellow with enormous spectacles, a 
little round cap, and a big blue apron that nearly cov- 
ered him. When he came quite close to the visitors he 
made a deep bow, standing on one foot, which Dick 
thought must be very hard to do, because he himself had 
a terrible time doing it gracefully on two. But Mr. 
Crane had taken off his cap with the other foot, you see, 
so he had to bow standing on one. 

“How do you do!” he said in a very cordial voice. 
And then after Wisp had said how do you do and asked 
him how he was, he introduced his friends. Rose, Dick 
and Jim Dandy. 


The Runaway Feathers 43 

And then after that everybody said how do you do 
again and that they were glad to meet everybody else 
and they shook hands all around, after Mr. Crane could 
spare a foot (or a hand or whatever a bird shakes) by 
putting his cap back on his head. 

“How’s business?” asked Wisp then, not thinking it 
wise to waste too much time on manners. 

“Fine!” said the crane. “If only we could get more 
feathers! The Easter bonnet season was hard on the 
birds, it was the style this year to have them on hats 
you know, and we’ve been rushed to death trying to fix 
them up. I don’t know what we are going to do for 
feathers, though.” 

“Well,” said Wisp with a generous wave of his hand 
toward the pillows, “we’ve brought you a whole bunch. 
Here they are. Help yourself.” 

“Oh, you darlings,” cried the crane, “you dear de- 
lightful darlings!” And beaming with pleasure he 
tucked a pillow under each wing. “Now we can 
free hundreds of our relatives who have been stuffed 
and put on hats. You see,” he explained to the children 
and the cat, “we make pretend birds to put in their places 
so no one will be the wiser. And we bring the injured 
ones up here to get better. Hear how joyously they 
sing! Come along and I’ll show you the factory.” 

As they went along, they passed through a forest 
where so many birds were singing they had to give up 
talking to each other. There were all kinds of birds 
there; birds from the cold north, birds from the 
sunny south, birds from China and birds from Japan, 
red birds, blue birds, yellow birds and green birds, and 


44 The Wonderful Land of Up 

birds with a dozen colours. They all seemed so happy 
to be well again that it seemed they just had to sing 
and it made an awful racket really, just as too many 
bands all playing at once will spoil each other’s music. 

They left the forest after a while and came to the fac- 
tory where wheels were turning, whistles were blowing, 
and all kinds of machinery was buzzing for dear life. 
And all the little workmen were brownies, who are kind 
of fairies you know. It certainly was a busy place, for 
the little brownies kept hurrying from one room to an- 
other with scissors, and glue pots, and tape measures, 
and oil cans, and were too busy almost to stop and talk 
to the visitors. 

Mr. Crane himself took them around. They went to 
the feather room first where they emptied the pillows — 
and really it was a good thing the children had taken 
them along, for the supply was getting very low, just 
a little heap left in one corner. And then they went 
to the dye room where brownies were dipping the 
feathers into big pots of different coloured dyes, and 
making them bright and gay. 

But the most interesting place of all was where the 
brownies were putting the feathers together to look like 
birds. They were very smart and seemed to know 
exactly what to do. They never made a mistake and 
put a poll parrot’s tail on a blackbird, or an oriole’s 
head on an owl. Wouldn’t it have been dreadful if they 
had? 

Then a little brownie in a big pink apron held up a 
little humming bird he had just finished. 



so MANY BIRDS WERE SINGING THAT THEY HAD TO GIVE UP TALKING TO EACH 
OTHER. 



The Runaway Feathers 45 

“How darling!’’ cried Rose, dropping on her knees 
to see better. 

“That’s for Lottie Little’s new spring hat,” explained 
the crane. “Her mama bought her one with pale blue 
bows on it, which was very pretty, of course, but what 
do you think, didn’t they have to go and have a bird 
on it too, a humming bird, right on the side. And that 
humming bird had a nest full of eggs at home nearly 
ready to hatch. 

“So we made this bird to-day which looks exactly like 
the one on Lottie’s hat, and to-night Starlight, our 
fastest fairy flyer, whose wings glisten so that he can 
work at night, will take it down to Lottie’s house and 
exchange it for the real humming bird, which he will 
bring up here for the fairies to nurse back to life.” 

The children were greatly impressed by this, and Rosa 
felt glad that she never had any birds on her hats. 
Once she had heard her mother say that she never would 
buy a hat with a bird on it, so she told the crane and he 
was so much affected that he patted her kindly on the 
shoulder with one foot and said that such news always 
made him feel better for a week. 

Then they visited some more places, the next one be- 
ing — well. I’ll tell you in a minute what it was. Any- 
way, as they came near they heard a great chattering 
and fussing and scolding which made the crane frown 
most alarmingly. “They’re at it again!” he declared 
crossly. “It’s those storks. I don’t know what I’m go- 
ing to do if they don’t stop quarrelling. You see this is 
the place my fairies make eider-down comforts to carry 
the new babies in, and since feathers have become so 


46 The Wonderful Land of Up 

scarce, we can’t make the comforts fast enough, and 
these old storks stand around and wait and the first one 
that’s finished they all grab and then there’s a fight.” 

Mr. Crane opened the door just then and stuck in his 
head. “Hi there, you old pirates,” he shouted, “put that 
baby comfort down. You’ll have to earn it before you 
can have it. Let’s see!” And he scratched his head 
thoughtfully. “I guess it will have to be a riddle again, 
that always works pretty well. The first one to guess 
the answer may have the comfort. What — ” he began 
and then stopped. “What — ” he began and stopped 
again. “What — Oh say! I don’t know any more rid- 
dles. I’ve asked them all I know. Do you know any 
riddles. Wisp?” 

“Sure, I do,” said Wisp promptly. “What’s the 
difference between a porcupine and a baby?” 

The storks all scratched their heads and thought and 
thought and thought. 

“What’s the answer?” Wisp asked the first stork. But 
the stork only shook his head mournfully. “I don’t 
know,” he said. 

“Next!” said Wisp sharply, turning to the second 
stork. 

“I don’t know either,” admitted the second stork 
sadly. 

“Next!” Wisp came to the third, who also said he 
didn’t know either, and so on down the line. Finally, 
the fairy came to the last stork, which looked so old he 
might have been the great granddaddy of all the others. 
“What’s the difference between a porcupine and a 
baby?” Wisp repeated. 


The Runaway Feathers 47 

“Well,” said the old stork slowly, “there’s enough 
difference so that I should never mistake one for the 
other.” 

“That’s the answer,” said Wisp, “so I guess you get 
the comfort, doesn’t he, Mr. Crane? The rest of these 
birds not knowing the difference, might be taking a 
prickly porcupine to some earth family instead of a 



“We bring the injured birds up here. How joyously 
they sing!” 


nice soft little pink baby.” Then turning to the old 
stork he advised: “Now trot along to Babyland and 
choose an extra pretty one to wrap up in this soft fuzzy 
wuzzy comfort.” 

That was all settled, so they left the comfort factory 
and Mr. Crane took them next to a place where some 
more fairies were making funny little feather dusters 
that their guide explained were for the sweepers. 

“What are the sweepers?” asked Rose curiously. 

“Why,” said the crane, “don’t you know how the 
ground spiders spin webs over the grass and flowers 
sometimes, so that when the dew fairies come along 


48 The Wonderful Land of Up 

with their watering cans to give the poor things a drink 
at night, the water wouldn’t go through, if the little 
sweepers didn’t fly down about dark with their feather 
dusters and get the cobwebs out of the way?” 

“Do you think I could see them if I looked?” asked 
Rose. 

“Well, I don’t know,” said the crane, looking oddly 
at Wisp, “it’s generally pretty dark when all this hap- 
pens. But of course you mights 

“Do they carry lanterns?” asked the little girl ex- 
citedly, suddenly thinking of something. “Because 
sometimes when I can’t sleep and look out of my window 
I see little lights all flying around.” 

Wisp and the crane nodded at each other soberly. 
“Then maybe it’s the sweepers. We shouldn’t be at all 
surprised, should we?” 

In the same building the little fairies were making 
ticklers too. The crane explained that these were used 
to make the babies laugh. “Whenever you see a baby 
smile, you’ll know there is a little fairy around some- 
where poking him with a tiny feather tickler,” said he. 
“It’s to keep them happy so their mothers can get their 
work done.” 

They all laughed at that, even Jim Dandy, who had 
behaved himself remarkably well and hadn’t offered to 
climb a tree or scare the birds. But of course nobody 
was afraid he would with his muzzle on. 

“Well, we’ve had a most entertaining time,” said 
Wisp, looking at his watch, “but really we must be 
going. It’s getting quite late and time to be getting 
dressed for tea, eh, Dickie? So say good-bye, children. 


The Runaway Feathers 49 

and thank Mr. Crane for everything. Why, I declare, 
here’s our carl” And sure enough, there was the top 
of the apple tree with the little elevator inside waiting to 
take them home. 

So they all stepped in and then sank, sank, sank ever 
so gently to the orchard below where Dandy’s muzzle 
turned once again into a salmon can and then fell off 
with a clatter. 












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CHAPTER IV 
MIST LAND 














Chapter IV: Mist Land 


T he afternoon bath was over and Mother had 
slipped a soft white nightgown over Rose’s head 
and pinned up her curls in a cunning top knot so 
her neck would be cooler. Dick, too, was in cool white 
pajamas all ready for his nap on the quiet shaded sleep- 
ing porch. It was a very, very warm day and every one 
was trying his best to keep cool. 

The telephone rang and Mother answered it, which 
left the children alone for a moment. Dick, standing by 
the window, looked out toward the orchard longingly. 

“I think it’s lots cooler out there,” he declared. ‘T 
don’t see why Mother makes us stay here to-day.” 

“She says mothers always know best,” said Rose. 
“They do sometimes,” admitted Dick, “but when 
mothers never play in apple trees how can they tell which 
place is cooler?” 

Rose thought about this a minute. That was true of 
course. How could mothers know about apple trees? 
Besides they surely would want their little girls and boys 
to be in the most comfortable place on such a hot day. 
Rose wanted to go very much, you see. 

“I don’t believe she’d care,” said Dick. 

“Neither do I!” said Rose. 

“Then let’s.” 

“All right!” 


53 


54 The Wonderful Land of Up 

And while Mother was still talking to Mrs. Evans 
over the telephone about the way to fix the milk for 
Mrs. Evans’ baby, two little figures in white hurried 
down the stairs, out through the yard where they gath- 
ered up Dandy, and thence up the lane and out to the 
orchard. 

But arrived at the tree a new difficulty arose. They 
were not dressed for climbing and the rough bark hurt 
their legs. ‘T wish we’d left the ladder here,” said 
Dick, ‘‘Chris took it back when he found we wouldn’t 
use it.” And he looked up at the little playhouse re- 
gretfully. 

“Let’s just sit down here on the ground and wish we 
were up,” suggested Rose. “Maybe it will come true.” 

“All right. Anyway, it’s beautiful down here. I 
think this orchard is the beautifulest place in the 
world,” said Dick. 

The children didn’t think they were being naughty 
for running away. They just thought they knew bet- 
ter than their mother, which is being naughty of course, 
only they didn’t know it. 

So they sat down and leaned against the tree and 
listened to the birds and bees, and Dandy curled up be- 
side them on the ground. He was very gorgeous to-day 
as Aunt Margaret, to whom he really belonged, had 
tied a great red bow on his neck. If there was any- 
thing that Jim Dandy liked better than creamed chicken, 
or salmon, or catnip, it was a red bow on his neck. Per- 
haps it was because it was so nearly like purple, and you 
remember what he said to Wisp one time about that. 

But speaking of Wisp, a funny thing happened just 


Mist Land 55 

then, for the little man himself suddenly stood beside 
them, his hand to his cap at salute. 

“His Imperial Majesty, the King of the Wonderful 
Land of Up, sends his compliments,” he said quite 
grandly, “and wishes me to say that he would be pleased 
to have Mistress Rosemary Geraldine Salisbury, Mas- 
ter Richard Burlingham Salisbury, and Shah Rabindran 



Alibi Shushan, the Cat, accompany his humble servant” 
— here Wisp made a bow — “on a further tour of his 
kingdom.” 

Then suddenly dropping his dignified manner he 
laughed at the children’s astonished faces, and putting 
his head on one side he said, “That means, do you want 
to see some more fairies?” 

Rose and Dick jumped up eagerly at this. “Yes, 
indeed, Mr. Wisp. May Dandy go, too?” 

“He surely may,” smiled Wisp, “particularly as he 


56 The Wonderful Land of Up 

has on a red bow; it’s much more becoming than the 
salmon can, Dandy. The people where I am taking 
you are very fond of red. When I think of it you little 
folks are dressed exactly right for the place, too, but 
there is one thing I’ll have to do, that is, to make you 
smaller. Jim Dandy’s all right, but you are much too 
big, so I’ll make you little and then I can put one on 
each shoulder and climb the tree to the elevator. 

So he said some magical words, ‘‘Eeny, weeny, tiny 
grow. There you are.” And suddenly Rose and Dick 
began to shrink until, like Alice in Wonderland, they 
began to fear their chins would hit the ground. A little 
squirrel darting past just then looked as big as a horse 
and the children started back in dismay. 

“Don’t be frightened,” said Wisp. “When you are 
under a magical spell nothing can hurt you. Come on, 
let’s start right away if we are to go visiting.” And 
setting Rose on one shoulder and Dick on the other. 
Wisp scrambled up to the playhouse in no time. Dandy 
following. And the first thing they knew they were 
going up, up, up through the apple blossoms, just as 
they had done on their former adventures, straight up 
into the sky. 

“You’ll never guess where we are going this time,” 
said Wisp, “so I’ll tell you. We are going to Mist Land 
or the Land of the Mist Fairies ! Some people call them 
steam fairies.” 

“Steam fairies!” exclaimed Dick. “Do you mean 
steamy steam like an engine makes?” 

“Yes,” laughed Wisp, “doesn’t steam always go up?” 

“Yes,” said Dick thoughtfully. “It does.” 


Mist Land 


57 

‘‘After to-day you won’t speak of steam as it, though, 
you’ll call it they. But I won’t tell you what I mean 
until you see for yourself. You’re going to find out 
now why some steam makes teakettles sing so, and why 
some makes the trains go, and why some makes the 
whistles blow, and why some makes the flowers grow 
— but here I am talking poetry, and I don’t mean to 
at all. But here we are!” suddenly jerking the little 
car to a standstill. “Jim Dandy, you step out first be- 
cause you have a red bow on. Steam fairies love red 
because it reminds them of fire. It’s pretty warm here, 
kiddies, but you are dressed so thinly I guess you can 
stand it.” 

But as soon as the cat got out he began to shake and 
make awful faces. “I don’t like steam,” he said 
crossly. “It’s too much like water. I’m going back,” 
and he turned to get into the elevator again, but the 
whole thing had suddenly disappeared. If the tree had 
been there perhaps he might have climbed down that, 
but it had gone, too. 

“Now see here. Dandy,” coaxed the fairy, “we’ve 
got to make up our minds to take things as they come, 
besides you ought to like steam. I never knew a cat who 
didn’t like a teakettle.” 

This mollified the Persian. “All right,” he said, “I’ll 
do anything once.” 

All this time Bose and Dick were so busy looking 
around at the beautiful things they saw that they hadn’t 
heard a word of this fuss. And no wonder, for Mist 
Land looked all white and feathery like Silverport did 
after a heavy snow storm in the winter. The trees, which 


58 The Wonderful Land of Up 

were very small, were white, the flowers and leaves were 
white and the ferns were white. You see they weren’t 
green covered with white, like earth trees in a snow 
storm, but they were white all through, for they were 
made of mist. And there were no houses that the chil- 
dren could see; but then that wasn’t odd, for mist 
fairies have no feet, but instead they have beautiful 
gauzy wings with which to fly. 

When these little fairies spied the visitors and caught 
sight of Dandy’s brave red bow, they came swarming in 
hundreds and settled themselves all over the heads and 
arms and shoulders and hands of their guests, for al- 
though the children had been made smaller, they were 
still a thousand times bigger than the fairies. 

“Oh, you dear little creatures!” cried Rose, holding 
out her hands for more fairies to alight. They had no 
feet but they had a graceful way of balancing them- 
selves on anything they touched. 

“You’ll have to be careful not to step on the trees 
and flowers,” said Wisp. “They are made of mist, and 
if you step on them, poof! They would be gone in an 
instant.” 

Just then they heard a wonderful singing noise that 
came nearer and nearer every instant. “Here come the 
teakettle fairies,” cried Wisp. “They are coming for 
you, Jim Dandy.” 

I forgot to tell you that all the little fairies had let 
Dandy alone, probably because they had heard what 
he said when he got out of the elevator. He was 
feeling very much offended just now, so when Wisp 
said the teakettle fairies were coming for him, he felt 


Mist Land 59 

much better. He was of some importance after all! 
You see, being of royal blood it was very hard for him 
to endure a slight. 

Sure enough, a whole host of beautiful little sprites 
flew near and crowded all over Dandy’s back and head, 
and particularly on his bright red bow! And I guess 
they must have whispered something into his ear, for 
suddenly he started away at a great pace, the fairies 
clinging to him for dear life. But he went so fast a few 
of them did fall off — but I’m sure they didn’t get hurt. 

Wisp laughed. “Now he’ll feel better, when he sees 
the big singing teakettle and a saucer of nice cream. As 
for me, I think it warm weather for teakettles but cats 
seem to hke them the year round. The fairies will plop 
the lid and fly out of the spout and sing and he will go 
to sleep. So he’ll do very nicely for awhile. Now then,” 
turning to the other little fairies, “where do you want 
us to go?” 

“We want to show Dick how engines go,” they cried. 
“He asks his mother so many questions that she can’t 
answer, we thought we’d show him how it is done.” 

Of course Dick was delighted, so they all followed 
the little steam fairies who flew ahead until they came to 
a track and a station where they stopped and waited. 
Then suddenly there was a loud whistle and a choo-choo- 
choo, and along came a little engine no higher than the 
children’s heads drawing a long string of cars; and out 
of the cab window leaned the engineer. Rose and Dick 
wondered if he could be Wisp’s brother or his cousin, 
or perhaps even his second cousin, he looked so much 


6o The Wonderful Land of Up 

like him, except that he was dressed differently, as en- 
gineers always are. 

‘‘Hello, Pete!” called Wisp, when the train stopped. 
“I thought we’d see you to-day. Business good?” 

“Not very,” said Pete, wiping some grease spots off 
his face with a red bandana handkerchief and taking 
off his cap to cool his head. “There’s a fellow in Happy 
Town running a new kind of a thingamajig called the 
Ocean Wave. And nearly all of the king’s guides like 
yourself are taking the children there. I hardly looked 
for you to-day, either. Wisp.” 

“Well, to tell the truth,” replied Wisp, “I did sort 
of think of going there, but the children were dressed 
so thinly to-day I thought we might as well come here. 
Don’t you think that is the reason trade is poor? 
‘Ocean Wave’ sounds so much cooler than ‘Mist Land 
Steam Railway.’ These are my friends. Rose and Dick 
and Jim Dandy. Oh, excuse me, Jim Dandy isn’t here. 
Rose and Dick, this is Pete, the engineer.” 

“How ja do!” said Pete, hastily putting his cap on, 
so he could take it off again when speaking to a lady. 

“How do you do,” said the children with real admira- 
tion. It was the first time in their lives they had ever 
spoken to an engineer, although they always thought 
they should like to. 

“Oh, I’m feelin’ right hearty, thanks!” said Pete. 
“How’s yourselves? Would you like a ride?” 

“Oh, yes, indeed, thank you!” cried the children, for 
they had had always wanted a ride on a toy railroad. 
There was one just like this in Luna Park in the city 
where Mother had taken them once, with dear little 



WHEN PETE BLEW THE WHISTLE, MORE STEAM FAIRIES CAME OUT OF THE TOP, 




Mist Land 6i 

cars and all, but Mother was afraid something would 
happen and wouldn’t let them ride on it. So here was 
their chance. 

But I forgot to tell you about what the fairies were 
doing all this time. As soon as the engine stopped, Pete 
had pushed a little button which opened something on 
the engine, and out flew hundreds of little steam fairies 
just like the ones who had gone to meet them. And 
when he blew the whistle, some more steam fairies came 
out of the top. All the time Pete was talking to Wisp 
and the children, the steam fairies were rushing in and 
out of that engine, and really the children were so in- 
terested watching them they could hardly talk to Pete. 
Really they wished so many interesting things wouldn’t 
all happen at once. 

Wisp had noticed this and now spoke up. “Say, Pete, 
before they get on, show your passengers how the en- 
gine runs, won’t you? Just go slowly up and down the 
track a little while, so they can see.” 

“Sure,” said Pete, pulling on his leather gloves again. 
“Anything to be obliging, especially when trade is dull.” 

So he went toot-toot on the whistle, and started the 
engine very slowly. Then suddenly a queer thing hap- 
pened. Either the children’s eyes changed so they could 
see through iron, or that engine changed into glass, but 
anyhow, they could see quite plainly everything that 
went on inside. And what do you think, the engine was 
full of steam fairies working with all their might! There 
was a fire and some water, of course, for as Wisp said, 
steam fairies can’t work unless they are warm, but every- 
where they looked there were fairies pushing this and 


62 


The Wonderful Land of Up 

turning that and pressing on something else, until the 
things inside that worked the wheels were going for 
dear life. The harder the fairies worked the faster the 
wheels went round. 

“Oh, oh, oh!’’ cried the children with delight. “What 
a funny engine!” 

“Not at all funny,” said Wisp, “they’re all that way.” 
But in spite of his manner he was secretly pleased at 
the children’s joy. “Now then, want a ride?” 

They did, so Pete stopped the train and they all got 
on one of the little cars. 

“Where do you want to go?” asked Pete obligingly. 

“Let’s see,” said Wisp, but while he was thinking 
Rose had spied a big black kettle sitting all alone on 
the platform with a queer looking cap on which cov- 
ered him almost entirely. The kettle looked very cross 
and unhappy and Rose called out, “What’s the mat- 
ter?” 

But the kettle didn’t answer. Pete, though, spoke up 
and explained. “That’s the watched pot you’ve read 
about, that never boils. Nobody likes him here, and he’s 
always in disgrace, because he is so disobliging. The 
steam fairies dislike him so much they put a dunce cap 
on him and set him there for all the travellers to see.” 

“Poor pot!” said Rose, for she couldn’t help being 
sorry for him. 

By this time Wisp had decided on the places they 
would visit, but said it was getting late and they couldn’t 
make too many stops. 

“Stop at Winterville, and Raintown, and Dewport, 
please,” he said. “That will do for to-day.” 


Mist Land 


63 

Winterville was the first stop, and when they got off 
a whole flock of fairies flew past carrying white leaves 
and flowers and ferns, such as the children had seen 
growing when they first arrived in Mist Land. 

“What are they doing?” asked Dick. 

“They are winter fairies,” said Wisp. “It’s their 
work to gather ferns and leaves and store them away 
here until winter comes to the earth and Jack Frost 
kills all the world flowers with his icy breath. Then 
these little winter fairies fly down with these mist 
flowers and paste them onto the children’s windows when 
they are asleep. When the children wake up they are 
surprised at the pretty pictures. And the winter fairies 
sit on the bare tree branches, too, and make them shine 
all over like diamonds, so the children see them on their 
way to school and clap their hands and cry, ‘Oh, look 
at the pretty frost!’ 

“When all the time it’s the pretty little winter fairies 
shivering out there in the cold just to make them happy. 
That’s why the fairies like heat. They can’t fly up here 
again until the hot sun warms them. Then they fly 
straight up the sunbeams into the sky.” 

“How pretty!” cried Rose, “do they make snow, 
too?” 

“Yes, in a way they do,” answered Wisp thought- 
fully. “When the fairies up here think the earth needs 
a snow storm to cover the roots of growing things to 
protect them from bitter winter winds, they gather up 
great armfuls of white mist from the mist hills here and 
fly down with it through the air. The mist gets cold on 


64 The Wonderful Land of Up 

the way down and turns into snow. But we must hurry 
along now if we want to go to the other places.” 

So they returned to the train where Pete was wait- 
ing, and the little engine started off right away for 
another station. 

“Dewport!” he called soon, and when the train 
stopped again, they all got off. 

“This is where the dew fairies live,” said Wisp, “and 
they are too busy to talk to us now so we must not dis- 
turb them. This is their busiest time of year, you 
know.” 

And sure enough, the little fairies were busy, but you’ll 
never guess what they were doing; they were mending! 
Hammering, and soldering and painting and gluing 
tiny, green watering pots, filling them with water, and 
setting them in rows all ready for sundown when they 
should be needed. Then the fairies would fly down to 
the hot dry earth with them and sprinkle the poor flowers 
and grass, and even people and animals, to cool them 
off and refresh them for the next day’s work. 

The children hated to leave such an interesting place, 
but Wisp had already started back to the station and 
they had to follow. 

At Raintown they saw the rain fairies all dressed in 
rubber coats and filling great buckets with water from 
a cloud. When the earth needed a shower they dumped 
them all over at once, and it took so much water. Wisp 
explained, they never stopped to sleep but worked night 
and day. 

“Who tells the fairies what to do?” asked Dick. 


Mist Land 


65 



Wisp scratched his ear. “Why, you see, the King of 
the Wonderful Land of Up has a helper called Mother 
Nature. She gives the little seeds lessons on growing 
so I suppose she gives the fairies lessons too. But I 
never was sure about it.” 

Well that was all. Wisp said the time was up and they 
would have to go back. 

So Pete got the engine to the other end of the train 
and away they went back to the starting place, where 
the poor pot with the dunce cap still sat dismally on the 
platform. And there was Jim Dandy, too, who looked 
as though he had been having an elegant time, for he 
was washing his face and looking all purry puss. 

And there, too, was something familiar sticking up 


66 


The Wonderful Land of Up 

out of the ground. Can you guess what it was? The 
top branches of their dear apple tree, and the playhouse 
nestled snugly in its branches. 

“Good-bye, children!” called Pete after they had 
thanked him for taking them on such a pleasant journey 
and got into the elevator. 

“Good-bye, Pete! Come and see us and try our slid- 
ing board if you get tired of your train,” cried Dick. 
“It’s all slippery and you go down so fast you ” 

But Pete was gone, and the train and car and mist 
fairies had faded away, and the little playhouse sank, 
sank, sank swiftly down to the orchard below. Then — 
bump! 

Something must have happened then for there they 
were, snuggled up on the ground beneath the apple tree 
with Dandy close beside them. And in their ears Wisp’s 
voice very far away saying: “Eeny, weeny, tiny, grow,” 
backwards, to cast off the magic spell and make them 
big again. 


CHAPTER V 


THE LAND OF EVERYTHING 


, 


i 


f 

) 


1 


>■ 

■j 


Chapter V : The Land of Everything 

A fter their visit to Mistland, Rose, Dick and 
Dandy did not see Wisp for awhile. Why this 
was I cannot say exactly, or whose fault it may 
have been, but this much I do know, that Daddy came 
home unexpectedly to make them a short visit, and their 
days were so taken up having a good time that the chil- 
dren had not been out to the orchard for nearly a, 
week. 

Perhaps Wisp did go to the apple tree to see the little 
folks, who can tell, but if so he went away again and 
did not try to hunt them up at the house. 

In the meantime the children were having such won- 
derful times, I’m afraid they almost forgot their little 
fairy friend. There were rides and picnics, and one day 
there was a party out under the trees on Grandma 
Salisbury’s smooth front lawn, with tables and chairs 
and good things to eat. It was a wonderful holiday for 
the children. 

But the best thing of all were the stories Daddy told 
of the west where he had been in camp. They were all 
about soldiers, and guns, and horses, and flying ma- 
chines and things like that. Dick was never tired of 
listening, and neither for that matter was Rose, except 
that she didn’t intend to be a soldier when she grew up 
as Dick did. She intended to wear a yellow satin dress 
and keep a candy store. 


69 


70 The Wonderful Land of Up 

There was one story, however, that fascinated both 
children alike, that was one Daddy told about a storm, 
a dreadful wind storm, that had swept over a town he 
had come through on his way home. The children never 
tired of hearing how the wind had carried houses and 
people, barns and cows, right up into the air as easily 
as if they had been bits of paper. Daddy’s train had 
not been quite in the path of the wind, but it was so 
close he could easily see the damage that was done. 

“And do you know,” Daddy would say, “some of 
those things never were found. I suppose they just kept 
on going right up into the sky, and may be they are 
going yet for all we know. When one gets the habit 
of doing anything, it’s awfully hard to stop, just like 
Dickie here who got the spanking last night for jump- 
ing on the bed after he had been told to stop.” 

Yes, they both liked that story best. Of course I 
haven’t told you all of it, but they went over and over 
it after Daddy went away, until one day Rose said to 
Dick: “Let’s go out and see if we can find anything a 
Wowin’. It would be fun to see a cow fiy, wouldn’t it!” 

So they went out and looked and looked and looked, 
but didn’t see anything but some birds and a white but- 
terfiy. Then suddenly Dick thought of the apple tree so 
long neglected. “Let’s go out to the orchard,” he sug- 
gested, “and play in the playhouse.” 

So off they started, followed as usual by Dandy the 
cat. 

The apple blossoms had gone, and to the children’s 
surprise tiny green apples had appeared on the trees. 


The Land of Everything 


71 



Nests too that had held speckled eggs were now full of 
hungry baby birdies that held their mouths open all the 
time for something to eat. 

But the playhouse was there just the same as when 
they had played in it last, and they soon scrambled up 
to its friendly shelter. 

“Let’s tell stories,” said Dick, when they were trying 
to decide what to play first. 

“No, let’s play windstorm,” said Rose. 

“All right,” cried Dick. “Let’s pretend I’m a sol- 
dier and you are my prisoner and the wind comes along 


72 The Wonderful Land of Up 

and blows you away. And we’ll pretend Dandy’s your 
horse and he gets blown away too.” 

But all at once a voice said: “Be careful how you 
talk about windstorms, children. They are really noth- 
ing to joke about.” 

Of course it was Wisp. He had come as he usually 
did without any warning, but the children were more 
surprised than ever when they saw him. He certainly 
was a sight to behold. 

“Hello, Wisp,” cried Dick. “Did you get hurt?” 

It seemed a foolish question, considering that the 
fairy was walking with a crutch, and had one foot all 
bandaged until it looked like a pillow. His coat was torn 
almost to pieces, and a big black patch covered one eye. 

“Oh, no!” he said, drawing up his shoulders in the 
funny little way he had. “I’m just doing this to make 
me look beautiful!” 

“But you really don’t look beautiful!” said Rose, not 
knowing that poor Wisp was joking. “When I look 
at you I sort of want to cry or something.” 

Wisp looked at her a moment with an odd expression 
on his face, and then blew his nose very loudly and 
winked his one good eye very fast. 

“Rosie, you’re a little dear!” he said in a choked sort 
of voice. “I want to cry myself when people talk so 
kindly to me.” 

And then after he had put his handkerchief away 
he seemed to think of something and got very much 
excited. “I’ll tell you what the trouble was!” he ex- 
claimed, “it was that old stove, that awful old iron stove 
that the wind blew up. I was just standing up there 


The Land of Everything 73 

in Empty Land, as nice as pie, I mean very nicely and 
quietly, when roar, zip, bang, the ground at my feet 
opened and a big stove came tearing through and hit 
me. How did I know there was a big windstorm going 
on down on the earth and that I’d better be careful? 
I was just thinking how nicely we had cleared Empty 
Land of things that had been blown up in the last wind 
storm, when that stove knocked me down and then sat 
on me. One of his legs went into my eye and another 
on my foot, and there he stayed thinking only of him- 
self and his troubles and never bothering about me in 
the least. 

‘'And while I was lying there with the stove on top of 
me, there was the most dreadful cracking and banging 
all around me. I began to think there was a war in 
the sky too, and the big guns were all going off at once. 
But at last I saw what it was with my good eye, the one 
the stove’s foot wasn’t sticking into! It was another 
awful wind storm down on the earth, and chimneys and 
plows and chicken coops and scarecrows and rain bar- 
rels and a million other things came popping up all 
around me. The place was a sight to behold, and here 
we fairies, as I said before, had just got it cleared up 
after the last storm. Earth people don’t know what 
an awful trial tornadoes are to us in the Wonderful 
Land of Up. That’s why we have Empty Land, just 
for the poor blown-up things to come to. But if 
these storms keep up we shall certainly have to change 
the name of the place. It’s hardly ever empty any 
more.” 


74 The Wonderful Land of Up 

“We were just wondering,” said Dick, “where all the 
things went.” 

“Well — that’s where,” answered Wisp, sighing 
loudly. Then suddenly he had an idea. “I’ll tell you 
what!” he exclaimed. “I’m going up there again right 
now, and how would you like to go along? I really 
didn’t expect to take you on an adventure to-day when 
there is so much work to do, I just came down because I 
got lonesome and wanted sympathy, and I thought I’d 
hunt you up ; but when I think of it you might be very 
useful. I can lean on Dick’s strong shoulder here when 
my crutch tires me, and Rose can help me guess where 
things belong.” Wisp sighed again, “It’s an awful 
mess up there 1” 

“May Dandy go too?” asked Dick. 

“Why, of course. We’ll need him, too, he’s so wise. 
But he must promise not to chase the chickens.” 

“All right, I promise,” said the cat rising and yawn- 
ing. 

So Wisp moved the starter and away they went, play- 
house, children, fairy, cat and all, right up through the 
apple branches, up, and up, and up some more, until 
.they must have been on the seventeenth floor of the sky. 
And there they were! 

The playhouse stopped and they all got out, Wisp 
limping dreadfully. But as he was always thinking of 
some one else, he thought of the cat now, and saying 
some magical words. Dandy began to grow until he was 
as large as the children. This performance put a 
thought into Dick’s head. “Can’t fairies cure them- 


The Land of Everything 75 

selves,” he asked, “when they are always doing things 
for other people?” 

“Not very well,” replied Wisp, “but we can cure 
each other. iVe been hunting all day for one of my 
people, but they are all as busy as I am I guess, I 
couldn’t find one. There ! I just knew how it would be. 
Do you hear them crying in a dozen different lan- 
guages?” 

“Who?” asked Rose. 

“Why, the broom, and the pig, and the wheelbarrow, 
and all the rest of them! They want to go home, but 
one talks French, another Spanish, another Italian, 
every language under the sun almost, depending upon 
what kind of a family they belonged to before they 
blew up here. How do I know where they live? It’s 
an awful mess — an awful mess 1” 

“This place isn’t pretty like Mist Land — or Feather 
Land,” said Rose looking around. 

“Oh this!” said Wisp contemptuously, with a scornful 
wave of his hand. “Why, I told you we just keep this 
as a sort of store room for the tornado things. But I 
think we’ll change the name from Empty Land to the 
Land of Everything. I’ll speak to the king about it 
to-morrow. If we didn’t keep a place like this for 
them to come to, they’d go bursting into some decent 
place and kill a lot of fairies and spoil ever 5 rthing. And 
dear knows we can’t spare any of the feather workers, 
or dew fairies, or steam fairies, or any of them.” 

Just then there was a terrible squealing and a pig 
came along, big tears running down his face. 

“Squee — squee — squee,” cried the pig. 


76 The Wonderful Land of Up 

“Oh, you poor piggie!” cried Rose, suddenly feeling 
sorry for him. “Are you lost from your mama?’’ 

“Mama nothing,” spoke up the cat, “don’t you under- 
stand what he’s saying? But of course you don’t for 
you haven’t nine lives so you can’t understand nine 
languages as I can, neither are you a Persian. The 
silly thing is saying that the wind blew the curl out of 
his tail.” 

“Well, I do declare,” remarked Wisp with amaze- 
ment, “if it hasn’t!” 

And as for Dick he was so amused that he had to 
hop up and down on one leg and then the other. But 
Rose truly felt sorry when she saw the pig crying. 
“Don’t laugh at him,” she said. “Let’s try to help 
him. I guess he feels just as bad as little girls do who 
haven’t any curls at all. I know what I’ll do! Betty 
Brown’s mama does it to Betty’s hair, because she hasn’t 
any curls. I’ll put a curl paper on his tail.” 

Everybody was too surprised to speak, but Rose, 
finding a scrap of paper, twisted it up and then rolled 
piggie’s tail in it and fastened it securely with a safety 
pin. And the pig was so proud and saucy again he 
forgot all about being homesick for awhile, and ran 
away squealing with delight. 

Then along came a broom running around in a dis- 
tracted sort of way, and talking to. itself quite rapidly 
in some strange language. 

“What in the world is he saying?” asked Wisp help- 
lessly. 

Jim Dandy listened carefully for a minute, with his 
hand behind his ear. “Why,” said he, “the broom says 


The Land of Everything 77 

he was a perfectly good scare-crow before the storm, 
but the wind blew off his arms and all his clothes.” 

“Well, what do you think of that!” said Wisp. “Now 
what shall we do?” 

“Mr. Wisp,” said Rose, “couldn’t you spare him your 
coat? It’s all ragged now anyway, and really you — 
you don’t look so very much like a fairy in it.” 

“My coat!” said Wisp surprised. “Why I never 
thought I looked so much like a scare-crow as all that. 
But of course he may have it, if he wants it.” And Wisp 
was just about to take it off when the broom started 
to jabber some more in his queer way. 

“Now what?” asked Wisp. 

“He says,” explained Dandy, “that it’s purple and the 
crows would not be a bit afraid of him if he wore it, 
for it wouldn’t fool them a bit. They would know he 
was no farmer, for they only wear black or brown 
clothes and sometimes blue overalls.” 

“I know what to do,” cried Dick. “There’s lots of 
straw all around here, so we can make a straw scare- 
crow out of him and tie on sticks for arms.” 

“My, that’s a splendid idea,” said Wisp. “I’m glad- 
der every minute I brought you people along, you’ve 
been such a help.” 

So they fixed up the broom and found an old pan for 
a hat, and he was quite happy again. 

Next they heard something crying near their feet, 
and looking down they discovered a nest with a lot 
of eggs in it that had been hidden under the straw. 

“What’s wrong?” asked Wisp. 


78 The Wonderful Land of Up 

‘‘Oy — ^wong — chu — ^ling — ^howl’’ cried the eggs, 
“Ying — ^loi — sing — wu — chin.” 

“My, my, that’s too bad!” said the fairy, “don’t you 
think so, children?” But of course he had no idea what 
the eggs were talking about. 

But Dandy was listening again. “They are Cochin 
eggs,” he explained, “and talk Chinese. They want 
their mama, too, they say.” 

“Their mama! Why you aren’t chickens yet,” ex- 
claimed Wisp, “you’re only eggs!” 

“Yes, we are,” they said, “we are chickens inside of 
us and we’ll he chickens outside, too, if we are kept warm 
until to-morrow,” and they began to cry again. 

“Well, well, here is a pretty kettle of fish, I mean 
nest of eggs!” said the fairy, rather bewildered, for he 
was really having a great deal of trouble all at once. 
“Does any one see a hen anywhere?” 

But nobody saw a hen. Then suddenly Dick cried, 
“I see a rooster away over there.” 

“Then hurry and get him,” said the fairy, for an idea 
had occurred to him. 

So Dick chased the rooster and caught him, and Wisp 
set him down fussing and scolding on the nest of eggs, 
and told him to stay there. “Now, Mr. Cock-a-Doodle, 
don’t you move until those eggs are hatched, or I’ll 
change you into a caterpillar and the other chickens will 
eat you,” he warned. 

The rooster was so cross he said something dreadful, 
but he, too, was talking some queer language and so no 
one could understand, and Jim Dandy thought it best 


The Land of Everything 79 

not to repeat his remark. Anyway he stayed where he 
was for he didn’t want to be turned into a caterpillar. 

Well, they were all kept busy for awhile, I tell you, 
helping those poor tornado things. They found a rain 
barrel that had lost its water, and its hoops were getting 
so loose already they were almost falling off. Really, 
that rain barrel was so dry it couldn’t even cry. So they 



“I’ve come to apologise,” said the stove. 


found a pump that obligingly filled the barrel, and so 
that was all right. 

And next they put a wheel on the wheelbarrow, but 
do you know, they got it on backwards, and the poor 
wheelbarrow always had to run backwards after that. 

Then they milked a cow and gave the milk to a churn; 
and they wiped the dirt out of a potato’s eyes ; and they 
found a tongue for a lost wagon, and all sorts of 
things. 

Then Jim Dandy in his wise way said: ‘‘Mr. Wisp, 
if you get a paper. I’ll find out the names of the places 



8q The Wonderful Land of Up 

where all these things live, and the names of all the 
families they belong to. And we can send them home.” 

“Thank you,” said Wisp, “that’s the best thing yet.” 
And he got a paper and pencil right away. 

While they were writing down everybody’s name, the 
stove came along, the very one that had hurt Wisp, and 
it was looking very sorry. “I’ve come to apologise,” it 
said, “I never meant to hurt you, but I’m so clumsy and 
I get so terribly fussed up when anything happens, I 
don’t know what I’m doing. Besides, I had lost all my 
lids ; but I have found them now,” and he rattled them 
proudly. 

And then what do you think happened? Wisp’s 
crutch disappeared, the patch flew off his eye, the ban- 
dages flew off his foot, and his coat became as good as 
new. In fact, the little fairy man was just as well 
as ever. 

Everybody was so excited that the cat actually forgot 
himself and said, “Meow!” 

Wisp laughed. “Thank you, Mr. Stove, for apologis- 
ing so nicely. That’s what made me well. An apology 
fixes up everything right away, ask your mother if it 
doesn’t, children.” And the fairy shook hands with the 
stove and promised to see that he got safely home, the 
next day. 

The children were surprised to see the top branches 
of the apple tree suddenly appear just then. So many 
things had happened and time had gone so fast and they 
had no idea it was so late. But Wisp explained that 
they had better go home and he would attend to the rest 


The Land of Everything 8i 

of the things himself the next day, he was feeling so 
much better. 

So they all got into the playhouse after saying good- 
bye to the stove and all the other things, and Wisp 
brought them safely down to Grandma’s orchard. 


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CHAPTER VI 


THE LAND OF GOOD SMELLS 



Chapter VI: The Land of Good Smells 


O NE afternoon Wisp appeared to the children in 
the little playhouse quite unexpectedly. “I 
came,” said he, “to invite you to a party,” and 
he handed a card to the children upon which was writ- 
ten: 

‘‘The Fairies of the Land of Good Smells 
Miss Rose’s 

Desire the pleasure of . . . . Master Dick’s . .company 
Jim Dandy’s 

At a party. 

On Tuesday June the eleventh. 

At any time it is convenient.” 

“That’s to-day,” cried Rose. “This is Tuesday, be- 
cause Nora is ironing.” 

“Yes, it’s to-day,” said Wisp. 

“We can’t go this way,” said Dick, “we ought to get 
dressed. Mother wouldn’t let us go to a party all dirty 
like this. We were making mud pies.” 

“Oh, you’ll do all right,” said Wisp. “Besides, there 
isn’t time if you want to hear the verses. They are 
going to have sort of an entertainment, speaking, you 
know, and singing; some things the princess wrote. 
Where’s the cat?” 

They called Jim Dandy, and then the fairy started 
the playhouse upward as he had done so many times 

85 


86 The Wonderful Land of Up 

before, by moving the iron handle. Up they went 
through the apple branches, leaving the big world far 
below, the houses and trees and lake and church all look- 
ing like mere toys. 

Before Wisp stopped the elevator, however, he said 
he wanted to explain something. “You must not be 
surprised at anything you see here,” he said, “for it is 
a queer sort of a place. The smells live up here, mostly 
good ones, like things cooking and so on, although as 
people like different things, sometimes they can’t agree 
as to which are nicest. These little fairies go down to 
the earth to make things smell good, and when they 
are through with their work they come back here to 
stay until they are needed again, just as the dew fairies 
and steam fairies do in Mist Land. Each fairy has some 
special work, you see; some are chocolate-drop fairies, 
some are banana fairies, and some are noodle soup 
fairies, and so on. So please don’t laugh.” 

The children promised, and just then the elevator 
stopped and they all got out. As usual the tree disap- 
peared right away. 

Suddenly Dandy began to act very queerly and chase 
his tail around and around and around. Then he turned 
three back somersaults. Rose and Dick thought he 
was having a fit, and Rose was just getting ready to cry 
when she saw that Wisp was laughing. That relieved 
her, for she knew the fairy wouldn’t laugh if the cat was 
in trouble. 

Then all at once the children noticed that a lot of little 
green things were dancing around Dandy in a circle. 
They looked like weeds, but they had faces and hands 


The Land of Good Smells 87 

and feet, the children discovered, when they looked 
closely. 

“These are the catnip fairies,” said Wisp. “That’s 
why Dandy is behaving so, they smell so good.” 

“But he might bite them,” said Dick. “Cats eat cat- 
nip.” 



A queer little fellow that looked exactly like a nose. 

“These are only catnip smells,” answered Wisp. 
“You can’t eat smells, can you?” 

“Oh, I forgot,” said Dick. “Look, Rose, at all the 
funny things.” 

As they walked along, the air began to smell more 
and more delicious. It was just as though Nora was 
cooking a big company dinner and everything good in 
the world had been provided. It made Rose and Dick 
think of Thanksgiving or Christmas or the Sunday 


88 The Wonderful Land of Up 

Daddy came home. Their mouths were watering hun- 
grily and their noses twitching like bunnies’. 

It really was a funny country they were in, with all 
sorts of queer shaped houses. There was a big red apple 
house for all the apple smells to live in, apple pie, and 
apple-butter, and apple dumplings and apple tapioca, 
and so on; and a great big green pickle house for the 
pickle smells to live in; and a cake house for the cake 
smells; and a popcorn ball house for popcorn smells, 
pink, and white, and buttered, and sugared, and all 
kinds, you know. The walks and doorsteps were made 
of domino sugar and the trees were celery stalks and 
rhubarb. 

But that was only on one street, for in the next 
street they came to. Wisp explained that was where the 
flower smells lived, and the houses were diff erent here. 

There didn’t seem to be any one about at first, which 
seemed very queer, but Wisp said he supposed every one 
was at home getting dressed up in his best bib and tucker 
for the party. 

But as they were talking about it, a squeaky little 
voice spoke up and said: “Please, sirs, and please 
ma’am. I’ll show you around. I’m the guide!” And 
a funny little creature that looked exactly like a nose 
made his best bow. In fact, it was a nose, and the chil- 
dren could hardly keep from laughing, but they remem- 
bered in time what Wisp had said, so they looked very 
serious and said it was very kind of him, and they 
should love to go. 

So they followed the nose past the pretty houses 
of the flower smells, and it explained as it went the 


The Land of Good Smells 89 

names of each one, many of which the children had al- 
ready recognised from the ones that grew in Grandma 
Salisbury’s garden. And my but they did smell sweet, 
with so many lovely flower fairies inside! There was a 
rose house, and a sweetpea house, and a lily-of-the- 
valley house, and a lilac and a mignonette and a violet 
house, and all the different kinds of flowers that grow, 
thousands of them. So you must have some idea of how 
that place smelled! 

Rose wondered why Mother and Daddy and 
Grandma didn’t build their houses that way, like flow- 
ers. She decided that she would like to live in a big 
white lily. 

Then the nose took them next to the place where 
the lovely spring smells lived, newly turned earth, tiny 
bursting buds, and warm gentle rains ; then to the place 
where the winter smells lived, crisp frosty air, smoke 
from pinewood fires, and the spicy smells of Christmas 
trees ; and after that to the home of the autumn smells, 
flaming golden rod, wild asters, and fading leaves. 

These smells made the children think of such a num- 
ber of things, all at once, that they were having a time 
trying to decide which season they liked the best, winter 
or spring or autumn, but ended by saying they liked 
them all. 

Then, with a look which said quite plainly that he 
didn’t think much of the people here, the nose pointed 
to some houses inside of a high wall. “There,” he said 
with contempt, “live the smells of fried onions, sour- 
krout, boiling vinegar, red pepper, limburger cheese, 
and mustard. They try to get out and make every- 


90 The Wonderful Land of Up 

body’s life miserable, so we keep them locked up and 
only let them out by special permission.” 

They hurried past this place and then Wisp told the 
nose they had been invited to the party, and said he 
thought they’d better be going. And the nose thought 
so too, as he had to be an usher at the entertainment and 
show people to their seats. 

So they all went to the theatre where the entertain- 
ment was to be, and as Wisp had the tickets, they got 
their seats right away. They were down near the 
front, so they could see and hear everything that was 
said quite well. 

Over in the royal box sat the Prince and Princess 
of the Wonderful Land of Up, which greatly excited 
the children as they had never seen a prince nor a 
princess in their lives before. But except that they wore 
crowns and velvet clothes of purple and red, they looked 
just like other people and Rose wasn’t afraid at all, as 
she supposed she would be. 

Then Wisp whispered the news to them. “They are 
here because the princess wrote all the verses herself 
that the fairies are going to recite,” he said. “She 
writes a great deal of poetry, they say, and she has 
come to hear how it sounds.” 

Suddenly the curtain started to go up and everybody 
became very quiet all at once. You could have heard 
a pin drop, I’m sure. And there stood a whole row of 
little chocolate-drop fairies holding hands. They had 
on white frilled petticoats, just as you have seen them 
in the top layers of candy boxes, and they looked very 





so THEY FOLLOWED THE ROSE PAST THE PRETTY HOUSES OF THE FLOWERS 



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The Land of Good Smells 91 

nice. Then they sang a song, which sounded very much 
like Yankee Doodle. This is the way it went: — 

“Oh, foolish little Jack a’ Spandy 
Loved to eat sweet chocolate candy, 

He ate all day and ate all night, 

It really was a shocking sight. 

Call the doctor with his pills. 

Jack a’ Spandy’s got the chills. 

Stomach ache, and hurting head. 

Jack a’ Spandy’s gone to bed.” 

Then all the little chocolate drops made a low bow 
and were going out, but the people clapped their hands 
so hard they had to sing another verse. And it went 
like this : — 

“Jack would never mind his mother, 

Ate one doughnut after ’nother. 

Bought a great big juicy pickle 
At the grocers for a nickel. 

Now he wears a mustard plaster, 

Doctor gave him oil of castor. 

Some fine day he’ll up and die. 

And folks will wonder why, oh why!” 

Everybody clapped again, but the little chocolate 
drops didn’t know any more, so they bowed and went 
out. 

The next thing on the program was a little pink ar- 
butus flower fairy who came out and said a little poem 
like this : — 


92 


The Wonderful Land of Up 

“I’m just a little fairy, 

As all of you can see. 

I’m very shy and very sweet, 

Afraid of all I chance to meet. 

So this is all of me.” 

And they all clapped again, but nothing would bring 
the shy little thing out again. So that was all of her, 
just as she said. 

Then came a peanut which bowed very stiffly and said 
this verse in a high cracked voice ; — 

“Oh, hi diddle diddle. 

I’ll ask you a riddle. 

Can any one tell where I grow.»* 

Do I grow on a tree. 

Or an island at sea. 

Or up north in the ice and the snow.?^ 

Do I grow like potatoes. 

Way under the ground, 

Or like strawberries red on a vine, 

Or on plants like tomatoes 
So smooth and so round. 

Or like cones on an evergreen pine? 

Oh, hi diddle diddle. 

Please answer my riddle, 

I really have done my best. 

And I hope you will look 
In your peanut book, 

’Til the answer you all have guessed.” 

Then he made another stiff bow and went out, but 
the audience was so busy thinking what the answer could 
be, they forgot to applaud, so he didn’t come back. 


The Land of Good Smells 


93 



Then there was dancing and lemonade. 


Then the rose and violet sang a duet that Rose thought 
she had read one time on a valentine, but she wasn’t 
sure ; and the apple dumpling did a funny dance ; after 
that some little noodles came out and said this piece: — 

“If you haven’t a friend, or a hundred and one. 

If life’s all a bore or a barrel of fun. 

There are sure to be moments of gloomiest gloom 
When birds cease to sing and the flowers to bloom 
Now just when you think things have gone to the poodles, 
Why don’t you try having a dinner of noodles ?” 

That was all there was to that verse, and Jim Dandy 
said he was quite sure it was enough. 

Then the Prince got up on the stage and said how 


94 The Wonderful Land of Up 

glad he was to see everybody and how good the speeches 
were and everything. And everybody clapped then, 
too, for you know you always have to make a fuss when 
a prince talks, or anybody like that. 

After that they were to have dancing and lemonade, 
but Wisp said they’d better go home, as he was sure 
Nora was making lemonade anyway and it was getting 
late. 

As they left the theatre, the prince and princess were 
just getting into their carriage to go home, and the 
princess blew them a kiss which greatly excited Rose. 
But as the coach rolled away, the apple tree, playhouse 
and all, stood suddenly beside them, and in a twinkling 
they were sinking down, down, down to the earth where 
Mother was calling to them to come and get dressed. 


CHAPTER VII 
THISTLEDOWN LAND 



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Chapter VII: Thistledown Land 


W OULD you like to go to Thistledown Land?” 

The children looked around in surprise for 
they couldn’t see any one, but they were quite 
sure it was Wisp’s voice. They were playing in the 
meadow to-day, for Dick had eaten a green apple the 
day before and it had made him very sick, so Mother 
had forbidden them to go near the orchard. 

It broke their hearts, almost, not to be able to play 
in their beloved playhouse in the apple tree, but they 
were obedient little children, at least they were when 
they didn’t forget, so now they were making daisy 
chains in the meadow. 

“Where are you?” cried Dick puzzled, for look where 
they would, the fairy was nowhere to be seen, and it was 
not like him to hide, when he was talking to his little 
friends. 

“Look hard, and see if you can’t see me,” came the 
voice again. “I’m not so big as I used to be. I guess 
I’ve shrunk in the wash!” And the children could hear 
him laugh heartily at his own little joke. 

After all it was Jim Dandy, the cat, who found him, 
for he had been busily trying to dig out a mole that 
had burrowed a tunnel under the ground. He now 
stopped suddenly, and began to act very curiously, then 
the children looking down saw Wisp sitting on a daisy, 
smoking his pipe. 


97 


98 The Wonderful Land of Up 

“My goodness!” cried Rose. “How did you ever get 
so little?” 

“Easy as can be when you know how!” declared the 
fairy. “I just said: ‘Eeny, weeny, tiny grow,’ and as 
something has to get small when those magical words 
are pronounced, and I was the only thing handy, I just 
naturally diminished, — got little, you know.” 

A funny thing happened then. Just as Wisp had 
said, when those magical words were uttered, something 
had to get small, and as Rose and Dick and Dandy 
were the only creatures near, they too began to shrink 
until they were as little as the fairy himself. They were 
terribly bewildered at first, for the daisies and dan- 
delions now looked like huge umbrellas over their heads 
and the leaves and grass seemed like a mighty forest. 

“Oh dear!” said Rose. 

“Oh dear!” exclaimed Dick. 

“Oh dear!” declared Dandy. 

For the cat could talk now. That was one thing 
about Wisp, he never forgot the cat. Every time he took 
the children on an adventure, he included Dandy and 
gave him power of speech. 

“I had to do it,” said Wisp, coolly knocking the ashes 
out of his pipe and putting it into his pocket. “You’re 
not allowed in the orchard, so I can’t take you to the 
Land of Up that way. I decided then that this was 
the only thing to do, to make you little and let you sail 
up on down, on thistle-down, to be exact, on dandelion 
down.” 

“Sounds foolish,” said the cat, who was always watch- 
ing for a chance to show that he was a Persian and very 


Thistledown Land 


99 



The children saw Wisp sitting on a daisy, smoking 
his pipe. 


wise. “How can one sail up on down? Don’t you 
mean up and down?” 

“No,” laughed Wisp, “we’re going to ride these little 
white downy dandelion tops right up into the sky. If 
you look closely you’ll see that they are really para- 
chutes and can sail like everything. Hop on, chil- 
dren!” 

Wisp stepped from his daisy over to a fluffy dandelion 
top and reaching down pulled up one after the other 
of his little friends, and set each one comfortably on a 
tiny downy parachute. A strong wind coming along 
just then, the little umbrella-like things broke away 
from the stem and away they all sailed up into the air 


100 The Wonderful Land of Up 

above fields and trees and house tops straight toward 
the blue sky. 

“How lovely,” cried Rose, holding on tight with both 
hands. “I feel just like a bird.” 

“It is kind of nice,” agreed Wisp. “I rather like it 
myself.” 

“It’s better than flying machines,” said Dick ex- 
citedly. “I suppose you call us aviators now, don’t you, 
Mr. Wisp?” 

“Yes,” called Wisp loudly, for the little parachutes 
were drifting apart. “Only we can’t guide ourselves 
like aviators, — we just have to go where we are blown. 
But don’t worry, if we get lost from each other; when 
you get to Thistledown Land just ask for Mother 
Nature’s School and I’ll meet you at the gate.” 

Up they went, up and up until it seemed to the little 
folks that they were going to bump into the sun. In- 
deed it would have been almost too warm if it hadn’t 
been for a nice cool breeze that blew constantly, and the 
higher up they got the cooler the breeze became. 

All this time the wind had been blowing them to- 
ward a great white cloud that looked like cotton, and 
when they got clear up they were very much sur- 
prised to find a little doorway in the centre of it which 
opened to let them through. So you see the breeze must 
have been magical after all, although the children 
never guessed it. How else in all that big sky could they 
have reached the very same spot at the very same time 
if that wind had not been caused by the fairies! 

And when they floated up through the opening, the 
cloud closed after them, and suddenly it wasn’t a cloud 


Thistledown Land loi 

at all, but a beautiful green country full of flowers and 
trees, and the blue sky seemed to be as far away as 
ever. But the thing which astonished the children the 
most was the behaviour of their parachute. The little 
dandelion things had suddenly taken unto themselves 
feet and were walking away. 

Wisp called after them sharply. 

“You’d better mind your manners, and be a little more 
polite. What would Mother Nature say if she knew 
company had come and were left standing out in the 
road without any idea of where to go?” 

The little seeds came back right away, looking very 
sorry. Oh, yes, the little parachute things were seeds, 
you may as well know it now as later. All the little 
fuzzy, wuzzy things on dandelions, or thistles, or milk- 
weed when it is ripe, or anything like that, are really 
seeds. If you look ’way down in the middle of each 
little feathery piece, you will see a little pin point of a 
thing, and that’s the seed. 

“Excuse us,” they said. “We forgot all about you, 
we were so anxious to get there. We’re late for school 
you see, but if you will please come along, we’ll show 
you the way.” 

So Rose and Dick and Dandy and Wisp followed 
the seeds until they came to a great high hedge, in which 
was a great gate covered by a green vine. The little 
seeds knocked and instantly the gate was opened and 
they all went inside. 

Then the most curious sight you can imagine met the 
children’s eyes. They were in a sort of garden, yet it 
wasn’t exactly a garden either, for there were rows and 


102 The Wonderful Land of Up 

rows of little desks and chairs like you see in a school- 
room, only there were hundreds of them, instead of just 
thirty or forty. The aisles were of green grass, for walls 
there were high green hedges, and the only roof was the 
blue sky high overhead. It was certainly a most attrac- 
tive school and one felt that lessons learned in such a 
beautiful place would never be forgotten. 

Away up front in a chair made of white birch bark 
sat a beautiful lady who nodded a kindly welcome to the 
visitors and asked them to sit down. 

Of course they were all very small as I told you 
before, so they sat in some of the tiny chairs at the end 
of a row where some of the scholars were absent. The 
little dandelion seeds sat right in front of them look- 
ing very nervous, for Mother Nature was calling the 
roll. 

‘‘Sadie Thistle,” she called, looking in a big book, 

“Present!” said Sadie, in a funny weak little voice. 

“Jimmy Milk Weed!” 

“Present.” 

And so on down the line. Then she came to the 
dandelion seeds. She called, “Tommy Dandelion.” 

“Late,” spoke up one of the little seeds. 

“Billy Dandelion!” 

“Late,” answered Billy. 

“Dick Dandelion!” 

“Late!” 

“Charley Dandelion!” 

“Late!” 

The big book snapped shut. “What was wrong to- 



THE LITTLE DANDELION SEEDS WERE LOOKING VERY NERVOUS, FOR MOTHER 
NATURE WAS CALLING THE ROLL. 





Thistledown Land 103 

day, boys? Didn’t your Mama have you ready in 
time?” 

Then Wisp decided it was time to explain. He stood 
up. “If you please, ma’am, I’m afraid it was our fault. 
Tom and Billy and Dick and Charley Dandelion could 
have flown faster if we hadn’t been riding them. I’m 
sorry if we kept them late, and if they have to be pun- 
ished, can’t we take it instead?” 

“Nol” answered the teacher, smiling kindly, “punish- 
ment never rights a wrong, no matter who takes it. But 
my pupils must learn never to be late. Now for les- 
sons.” And she opened another book. “First we’ll have 
a review of what we learned yesterday.” 

“Nanny Plume Thistle, Johnny Cotton Thistle and 
Dan Globe Thistle come up front.” The little seeds 
got out of their chairs and fairly floated up the aisle. 

“Nanny, what is your favourite colour?” 

“Red,” answered the little seed. 

“What is yours, Johnny?” 

“White,” answered he. 

“Yours, Dan?” 

“Blue,” said Dan promptly. 

“That’s right. And when you blow down to the 
earth and take root and grow, always remember what 
colour of flowers each of you must bear. Now where did 
I tell you to grow?” 

“Across the road from Widow McBride’s cottage,” 
answered the little seeds all together. 

“That’s correct again, and be sure to work hard and 
bloom well. Every time she looks out of her door she 
must see your beautiful red, and white, and blue flowers. 


104 The Wonderful Land of Up 

and think of the flag her boy is fighting for. But be sure 
to keep well back from the road so your sharp points 
won’t prick the little bare feet of children as they 
pass.” 

“Yes, ma’am!” answered the little seeds. 

“That will do. You may go to your seats now.” 

“Laura and Alice Dandelion,” she called next, and 
two little dandelion seeds, looking exactly like the ones 
that had brought the children, went bashfully up to the 
teacher’s desk. 

“Where are you to grow?” asked Mother Nature. 

“On the hill opposite the factory,” said the little 
seeds together. 

“Why?” 

“Because the people who work there have no flowers 
and when they have time to glance out of the window 
they can see us and be glad.” 

“That’s right,” said Mother Nature kindly. “But 
two are not enough. We’ll have to cover that hill next 
spring, so I’ll send some more with you,” and looking 
into her book she read out a great many names. 

Then there were a great many more lessons after that. 
The little milkweed seeds were told to grow where chil- 
dren who had no toys could make cradles of the pods 
for their home-made dollies. The maple tree seeds were 
told to grow where shade was most needed, particularly 
where sick or wounded soldiers had come back home 
and were trying to get well. “Some people have ne- 
glected planting shade trees in their yards,” said Mother 
Nature sadly, “so we’ll have to do what we can to help 


Thistledown Land 105 

along. Be sure to grow as fast as you know how, little 
seeds.” 

All the seeds that have wings were taught something 
in that school and Rose and Dick were so interested 
they forgot all about the time. At last Wisp whis- 
pered: “School is nearly out, so we must be going. 
We’ll not stop to talk to Mother Nature to-day. She 



is very busy and works all the time ; very likely she will 
go to another school right away to teach some more 
little seeds how to grow. This is just the school for 
flying seeds you see, — the ones that have wings.” 

‘T wish I were a seed!” said Rose thoughtfully when 
they were on the road toward the gate. “I could make 
somebody happy then.” 

“My child!” exclaimed Wisp. “What a wish! As 
though a dear little girl with two eyes, and two ears, 
and two hands, and two feet, and one tongue can’t make 


Did 


io6 The Wonderful Land of Up 

hundreds more people happy than a little seed! 
you ever try?” 

“I don’t think so,” said Rose. “But I will. I’ll 
begin on Mama.” 

“So shall I!” declared Dick. 

“And I,” put in Jim Dandy. “I think I’ll begin on 
the canary. I’ve always teased him and made him think 
I wanted to eat him. I won’t do it any more.” 

“Oh, ho!” said Wisp, “so somebody else has learned 
something to-day besides the little seeds! Then I cer- 
tainly feel as though my time had not been wasted. Hi, 
there! Going down?” For they had come to the sky 
gate, and some little dandelion seeds were just getting 
ready to fly down to the earth. 

“Yes!” they answered. “Get on if you want a ride!” 

And gently, very gently, they deposited the little 
travellers on the very spot in the meadow from which 
they had started. 


CHAPTER VIII 


SOAP BUBBLE LAND 


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Chapter VIII: Soap Bubble Land 

A WONDERFUL box had come from Daddy. 
The reason for it was Rose’s birthday, but when 
the box was opened it was found to contain as 
many presents for Dick as it did for the little girl. The 
letter that came with the box explained that as Dick’s 
birthday was so near — just four weeks away, — and he, 
Daddy, might be too far away then to send anything, 
he had decided to send one big birthday box for the 
family. 

And indeed that is what it was, for besides toys for 
the children, there was a gold wrist watch for Mother, 
a silk bag for Aunt Margaret, some tortoise shell knit- 
ting needles for Grandma and even a little leather collar 
with bells for Dandy. 

But the children got all sorts of things. For Rose 
there was a doll, and a parasol, and a dollar bill in a 
little pink box; for Dick there was a little scout suit, a 
drum, and another dollar bill in a little blue box. J ust 
what they did with their money I’ll tell you later, for 
just now they couldn’t make up their minds how to 
spend so much. It was the most they had ever had for 
their very own in all their lives, except the five dollar 
gold pieces Grandma gave them every Christmas and 
which Mother always put in the big bank in town, to 
keep safely for them until they were grown. 

Besides these things, tucked away down in the corner 
109 


no The Wonderful Land of Up 

of the box were two funny little things that looked like 
pipes, and yet they weren’t pipes, for they had two 
holes down the stem instead of one and besides the bowl 
was different — sort of double, you know. 

It was Aunt Margaret who discovered what they were 
for. “They’re soap-bubble blowers, I’m sure,” she said. 
“I’ll get a bowl of warm soapsuds and we’ll see if I’m 
not right.” 

Sure enough, they were bubble-blowers, the most won- 
derful ones you can imagine, for they not only blew 
lovely bubbles, but they made little ones inside of big 
ones, and all sorts of bubbles such as the children had 
never seen before. 

When Mother saw all these things, her eyes filled with 
happy tears. It was hard to have Daddy away, but the 
box and the things it held brought a message of love 
that was comforting, and it pleased her to see the chil- 
dren so happy. She said something to Aunt Margaret 
which sounded very much like, “I’m glad they will 
have something to keep them busy now. They scarcely 
know what to do with themselves since I told them not 
to go to the orchard.” 

If she had only known it, the air fairies heard her 
say this and reported it to Wisp at the King’s Court in 
Happy Town, for that was where the King lived. 

Never mind what Wisp did just then, but it set him 
to thinking. Perhaps, too, this was the reason such an 
extraordinary thing happened later, when the children 
had taken the basin outside to a bench near the laundry, 
where Grandma said it didn’t matter how much muss 
they made. For you never could have one little boy. 


Soap Bubble Land 


III 



A little girl and a basin of soapy water. 


and one little girl, and one basin of soapy water without 
a muss being the end of it all, now could you? So 
Grandma was right to send them out. 

Well, the sun was shining, although the children them- 
selves were in the shade, and whenever a big soap bubble 
would go up in the air and the sun’s rays would catch 
it, it would show all the lovely colours of the rainbow. 


1 12 The Wonderful Land of Up 

violet and blue and green and yellow and red, all chang- 
ing so quickly that one moment a bubble was a lovely 
purple and even while you were looking it would change 
to green. 

Rose was so delighted that she really got very much 
excited and began to blow with all her might into the 
blower. She didn’t mean to do it, for Dick had told 
her if she blew too hard on one bubble it would get too 
big and burst. 

But, as I said, she was so excited that she forgot, 
and blew and blew and blew into her blower until the 
bubble on the end was perfectly enormous. And when 
she held it away and looked at it she never was so aston- 
ished in her life. It was as big as a watermelon. 

But the funniest part of it was that Dick had blown 
a big bubble too, exactly like hers, and then something 
queer happened. Suddenly the children discovered that 
they were not outside the bubbles looking in, but inside 
looking out, and the bubbles had broken away from the 
pipes and were floating upward into the sunbeams 
where their lovely colours were constantly flashing and 
changing as they rose. 

But in spite of the lovely colours the children dis- 
covered that they could see quite as plainly as if they 
had been in balls of clear glass, and that the air around 
them, and the world below, and the clouds above, all 
took on the lovely colours of the bubbles. And they 
discovered something else too; they were not alone. It 
was very puzzling indeed, but there were four large 
bubbles instead of two now, and who do you suppose 
were in the others ? 


Soap Bubble Land 113 

Yes, you are right, Wisp and the cat, of course. 
Didn’t I tell you that Wisp never forgot the cat? 
Maybe it was magic and maybe it was not, I’m sure I 
don’t know, but there they were all four sailing com- 
fortably in four beautiful large soap bubbles, straight 
for the clouds and blue sky above them. 

Rose did not try to talk, she had an idea that no one 
could hear her, for she seemed to be shut up in a little 
world of her own. Besides it was such a delightful feel- 
ing to be sailing so comfortably and smoothly through 
the beautiful sky, that she really didn’t want to talk. 
Probably Dick felt the same way, for he too was 
silent. 

But very soon the children discovered that they could 
hear, for Wisp and Dandy were talking. 

“But it’s no place for a cat, I tdl you,” Dandy was 
saying. “Did you ever hear of a cat liking soap ?” 

“No, I never did,” confessed Wisp, “but it’s time some 
of them did!” 

“If you mean anything personal by that — ” began 
Dandy in an offended tone, but Wisp did not let him 
finish. 

“No, no, no,” he apologised, quickly. “Of course 
not! But you liked Mistland fairly well after you got 
there and I’m sure Bubble Land is no worse. And this 
was the only way I could think of to get you there, until 
the children’s mother changes her mind again about the 
orchard. But of course if you would like to return to 
earth it isn’t too late, I can say some magical words 
and your bubble will burst instantly.” 

Jim Dandy looked down at the earth which was quite 


1 14 The Wonderful Land of Up 

a distance away by this time, and shivered. “Then 
what?” he asked. 

“Why, you’ll go down, of course.” 

“Fast?” 

“Yes.” 

“Very fast?” 

“Yes.” 

“You mean I’ll fall down?’' 

“Why, of course!” 

“But I might get killed.” 

“It would only take one of your lives. You’ve got 
eight more,” reminded Wisp. 

“But it might be the ninth life, and then where would 
I be? No thank you!” replied Dandy. “I guess I’ll 
stay where I am. But after this I advise you to please 
consult me about where I wish to go. It’s awful to 
get poked into a soap bubble like this and not have a 
word to say until it’s too late.” And Dandy subsided 
into an offended silence. 

“Never mind him. Wispy,” called Rose. “He’s cross 
to-day. He wouldn’t like to be left behind at all. His 
cream was sour this morning and he had to drink milk ; 
that’s what is the matter with him.” 

They were all so much absorbed in the conversation 
between the cat and the fairy that no one was paying 
any attention to where they were going, or what was 
happening, until suddenly they were surrounded on all 
sides by pretty curious creatures that kept bobbing and 
nodding at them in the j oiliest sort of way. The chil- 
dren were very much surprised, but they soon discovered 


Soap Bubble Land 115 

a lot of old friends, the very soap bubbles they had been 
blowing that morning, their round jolly faces wreathed 
in welcoming smiles. 

Then another surprise came, for the travellers dis- 
covered all at once that they were no longer floating 
upward but that they were gently bouncing and rolling 
along on something solid. And the first thing they 
knew — Boom! Their own bubbles had burst and there 
they stood in Soap Bubble Land surrounded by a lot 
of its people. 

You can imagine what a pretty jolly place it was 
with so many pretty colours and everybody smiling and 
happy. 

Pretty soon the children and Wisp and even the cat 
were smiling too. They just couldn’t help it. There’s 
nothing so contagious as a smile. Just try it, little boys 
and girls, and you’ll find that if you smile at everybody 
it won’t be long until everybody is smiling at you, and 
that’s the way it was with the Soap Bubbles. Oh, they 
were the happiest people! They joined hands and 
danced in a ring around the strangers and sang this little 
song: — 


“Airy, fairy, funny bubbles 
Laugh at everybody’s troubles 
Help to chase their cares away 
Busy every blessed day ! 

Chasing dirt that makes folks sad. 
Shining things to make ’em glad. 
Round and jolly. 

Think tears folly. 

Love the kiddies good and bad.” 


ii6 The Wonderful Land of Up 

Wisp clapped his hands and nodded for the children 
to do the same. “That’s a fine song,” he said. “It does 
me good. Thank you very much. But we haven’t 
much time to-day and I’m afraid we’ll have to be getting 
along. But if you don’t mind I’ll show these children 
around a bit. But while we are looking, if you have any 
more little songs you might sing them.” The little bub- 
bles were just waiting to be asked, for they started right 
off:— 

‘‘A rub-a-dub-dub. 

We were born in a tub, 

Where we splashed and we foamed and we 
played ; 

We slid down the board, 

And with laughter we roared, 

’Til it frightened Susannah the maid.” 

And some fat little bubbles with slanting eyes sang 
a song in Chinese, or J apanese, or Esquimese or some- 
thing like that: — 

“Kiddy awful dirty face 
Candy stickum every place; 

Touchy every thing like glue. 

Mommy say ‘Me whippee you’. 

Soapy say, ‘Oh, don’t do that. 

Me make him clean as quick as scat!’ 

Kiddy laugh and say, ‘Oh, my I 
Nicey bubbles, much obli I’ ” 

And that song made everybody laugh. 

“I was just thinking,” said Dick, after a minute, “that 


Soap Bubble Land 117 

I never did like soap very well, but I’m sure I’U like it 
now.” 

'‘That’s right,” said Wisp, “life would be awful with- 
out soap. We don’t appreciate it enough, especially the 
children. But the little bubbles that really do all the 
hard work, never feel offended because the children don’t 
like them. They know they are doing right and go mer- 
rily on keeping the world clean for people and being 
happy all the time. They come up here to play — ^this 
is their playground.” 

Indeed it was a funny place, a regular playground 
as Wisp said — great high sliding boards where little 
bubbles were having great fun playing toboggan, swings 
where they pushed each other to great heights, a merry- 
go-round, a see-saw, a place to dance, and a nice lake 
to swim in. 

And all the while the happy little bubbles sang songs 
as they played. Indeed it was such a cheerful happy 
place to visit, that even Jim Dandy was compelled to 
remark that he felt more contented than he had for 
months, and would certainly feel differently about soap 
and soap bubbles in the future. 

“Yes,” said Wisp. “This is the part of the Wonder- 
ful Land of Up that never worries the king. The peo- 
ple are never jealous and they never quarrel and the 
king never has to settle any disputes. Now take Kite- 
land, for instance, they have so much trouble with those 
kites they have to have a court house. Indeed the king 
has to spend a great deal of his time there himself. But 
really we must be going. I was just wondering, though, 


ii8 The Wonderful Land of Up 



about getting home. I’m afraid the bubbles we came in 
are broken.” 

But the jolly little bubbles had attended to that, for 
just now they came pushing and rolling the very same 
beautiful bubbles that had so kindly carried the visitors 
up to their country. They were so neatly repaired that 
no one would ever suspect they had been broken all to 
pieces just a little while before. 


Soap Bubble Land 119 

Then gathering around the children the bubbles sang 
a good-bye song: — 

“All aboard for a ride in the soap-bubble car, 

With walls of finest glass, 

Which is round like the moon and shines like a star 
And its passengers all first class. 

It can spin like a top and roll like a ball 
And can travel upside down; 

And it needs no track and no engine at all. 

And its station is Soap Bubble Town. 

All aboard for a ride in this wonderful car. 

All painted with purple and blue; 

It will carry you safely to earth so far. 

Where Mother is waiting for you.” 


And the first thing the children knew they were inside 
of the bubbles fioating gently down through the air 
toward Grandma’s house, right past the big maple tree 
and down into the yard near the laundry, where they had 
been playing before they started for Soap Bubble Land. 
The next thing they knew Mother was lifting them up 
gently from the ground. There lay Jim Dandy beside 
them fast asleep and nearby on the bench was the basin 
of soapy water and the bubble blowers. It was very 
warm and they felt very sleepy; it seemed almost as 
though they had been dreaming. But you and I know 
better, don’t we? 



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CHAPTER IX 


THE LAND OF LOST KITES 



Chapter IX: The Land of Lost Kites 

K ER-CHOO! Ker-chooT’ 

Rose and Dick jumped. They didn’t know any- 
body was near, except Dandy, and he never 
sneezed like that. 

They were out playing in the apple tree once more, 
for Mother had finally given them permission to play 
there again if they promised not to eat any apples; 
grocery store it was this time, with apples for potatoes, 
apples for oranges, apples for beans, and apples for 
money. They were just beginning to get tired when 
they heard the sneeze. 

“Ker-choo!” it came again and there stood Wisp. 
“I’ll say ‘Hello’ whed this dose of bide quits sdeez- 
ing,” he said, blowing it quite loudly with a large orange 
coloured handkerchief. “I dever had such a cold id by 
life. I’ve taked so buch bedicide I feel like a drug store 
and still I’b dot better.” 

He looked around with watery eyes and the little 
folks were just going to say something kind and sym- 
pathetic when he blew his nose again more loudly than 
ever, so of course they waited. 

“Well, why dod’t you say subthing?” he demanded 
sharply. “Dot you care whether I’b sick or dot? Here 
I ab feeling inside like a piece of dydabite that’s going 
to explode, and outside like a cobic valedtine, and you 
123 


124 The Wonderful Land of Up 

just stad there and stare at be. All right — I’ll fide sobe 
other little frieds that will be awfully sorry for be, so 
I’ll just go add hut theb up.” 

And he was turning sorrowfully away when Rose, 
little mother that she was, caught him. 

“Poor, dear little Wispy!” she said soothingly. “We 
are sorry, really we are, and you must not be cross. Of 
course I know how it is,” she sighed, “it always seems 
to affect people so. The last time Daddy had a cold 
like yours he spanked Dickie, and scolded me, and 
slammed the door on Mother and ” 

“Never mind what he did to me!” spoke up Dandy 
with dignity. It always offended his pride to think of 
that awful day. “I say let dead dogs lie — only in this 
case it nearly happened to be a dead cat.” 

“Well, well!” Wisp appeared to be getting happier 
now as he heard about somebody else’s trouble. It al- 
ways is that way, don’t you think ? “Well, well !” he said 
again. “So I am not the only one who has had a bad 
cold! I feel better already. We may as well be doing 
something, don’t you think? Let’s see!” And he 
scratched his head thoughtfully. 

Suddenly he jumped excitedly. “Why as sure as 
you live, this is the day of the trial, and I promised the 
king to be there!” 

“What trial?” asked Dick. 

“Why, the trial of the kites. There are three or four 
cases to be tried.” 

“Please, Mr. Wisp, what is a trial?” asked Rose. 

“Why, don’t you know? When somebody does some- 


The Land of Lost Kites 


125 



thing wrong, they lock him up until somebody else de- 
cides what to do with him.” 

“And what did the kites do?” asked Dick again. 

“You’ll find out when we get there,” answered the 
fairy. “It’s all jealousy, though, jealousy! It always 
leads to quarrelling and worse things. Children!” he 
said suddenly, looking very solemn, “beware of jeal- 
ousy. It’s the worst thing the bad man ever put into 
people’s hearts. There ! I’m feeling fine now, and we’ll 
have to hurry up to Kite Land or the trial will be over. 
All aboard! Keep your heads in, everybody. Going 


126 The Wonderful Land of Up 

up!” And Wisp moved the brake so that the little 
playhouse suddenly turned elevator again as it had done 
before, and started to glide swiftly up through the 
branches. 

Up, up, up it went into the sky, past fleecy summer 
clouds, high above the earth, right into the Wonderful 
Land of Up, a part they had not visited before. As 
the elevator slowed and stopped. Wisp explained that 
Kite Land was the place lost kites came to — and there 
were so many of them now in all the thousands of years 
people had been using kites, that it had become quite a 
country. 

“We’ll go right over to the court house,” he said. 
“The king will be there, and after the trial’s over I’ll 
present you to him. He’s always been wanting to see 
you. And remember to mind your manners and say 
‘Your Majesty’ whenever you address him. My Good- 
ness! The place must be jammed. Just look at the 
crowd!” 

Sure enough, all over the steps, and out on the street, 
and even sitting on the window sills of the great build- 
ing were hundreds of kites of every shape and size, bird 
kites, square kites, box kites, big kites, little kites, kites 
with tails, and kites with none. But when the children 
arrived with the cat and the fairy, a very large police- 
man kite with a jolly Irish face came through the crowd 
and made a grand bow. “May the saints bless ye,” 
said he, “an’ the king sends his compliments and invites 
you to come inside.” Then turning and waving his 
club, he cried to the crowd: “Make way for His Maj- 
esty’s guests, also for Mr. Wisp, General Handy Man 


The Land of Lost Kites 127 

to the King. Ma-a-a-ke wa-a-y!” And the crowd di- 
vided right in the middle just as evenly as you would 
cut an apple in two. And the policeman kite swinging 
his club and looking very important led the way into the 
building where the crowd was even greater than outside. 

But here again they made way for the newcomers and 
Rose and Dick and Wisp and Jim Dandy were ushered 
to seats away up front where they could see and hear 
everything. 

It really promised to be very interesting, for the 
King of the Wonderful Land of Up himself was there 
sitting on a great throne and dressed gorgeously in pur- 
ple and gold with a golden crown on his head that really 
reached half way to the ceiling. 

Then a funny thing happened. The king winked — 
winked, mind you, at Jim Dandy. The very idea of a 
king winking! But that’s exactly what he did. And 
Jim Dandy winked back. 

Wisp saw it all and scratched his head in a puzzled 
way, then suddenly he had an idea and whispered to 
Dick: ‘T know why he did that,” for of course the 
children had seen it too, “it was because the cat is of 
royal blood and that seems to count. A king can wink 
at another king if he wants to.” 

But when Rose heard it she said thoughtfully: 
“Maybe that’s it, but I think it’s because the books all 
say: ‘A cat can look at a king,’ and it’s sort of a little 
joke they have. But we must keep quiet!” 

Just then two policeman kites brought in two other 
kites — quite large, both of them, but the awfullest sights 
you ever saw. Their clothes were nearly torn off, one 


128 The Wonderful Land of Up 

had a black eye, and the other a bandage around his 
head. 

“They’ve been fighting again, Your Majesty,” said 
one of the policemen. 

Then one of the kites spoke up without being asked. 
He seemed to be very much upset. “I’ll leave it to you. 
Your Majesty, whether I’m not the greater. Why 
I’ve been written about in all the history books and the 
children study about me.” 

“So have I,” cried the other kite. “/ am the most 
important. Just yesterday the scholars in the 5th 
grade ” 

But the king interrupted. “Tut, tut, tut,” he cried, 
and he tapped his golden sceptre three times on the arm 
of his throne. “We’d better hear all about it first. Now 
tell me exactly what you did !” turning to the first kite. 

The kite straightened up proudly and looked as im- 
portant as he could with a black eye and a torn coat. 
“Sire, I had the honor of carrying the cord across the 
Avon River in England, that later drew over the rope, 
upon which was fastened the cable that helped to build 
the bridge ” 

“Stop a minute while I let that idea soak in,” cried 
the king, and he pushed back his crown and scratched 
his head thoughtfully. The children were so interested 
in watching whether or not his crown was going to fall 
off they almost forgot to listen to what he said. “Let 
me see, as near as I can get it, you helped to build that 
big bridge we’ve all heard about.” 

“Yes, sir!” said the kite eagerly and quite proudly. 
He was being appreciated at last. 



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The Land of Lost Kites 129 

“Well, well, I declare. That was fine work!” said 
the king. “But did it ever occur to you, Mr. Kite, that 
it wasn’t you, but the man who thought of sending you 
over, who really deserves the praise, ajso my little 
fairies who carried you across on the wind, and the wind 
itself. That’s the idea! It was the wind, not you, Mr. 
Kite, that deserves the credit. So suppose now you stop 
fighting to show your importance. And how about 
you?” turning to the second kite, as though that was all 
there was to it. 

The second kite, the one with the bandage, now spoke 
up boldly. “I, Your Majesty, am the silk kite Ben- 
jamin Franklin sent up in the storm. I discovered 
electricity.” 

Then the king put his head back and laughed and 
laughed, and again the children were afraid of his crown 
falling oif. 

“You — you discovered electricity! Well, I never!” 
And he laughed again. Then suddenly he got very 
sober. “You’re a very foolish kite; like your friend 
here you didn’t do anything at all. It was the man who 
thought of sending you up, and my fairies who carried 
you, and the wind, too. I’ll not punish you this time, 
for you both look as though you had been punished 
enough for your foolishness, but take a lesson from this, 
and don’t brag again about things you have done. 
Neither of you has done anything at all. Next,” called 
the king as the policemen led away the two kites who 
hung their heads dejectedly. 

Then two more kites were brought before the king 
and they were certainly odd looking fellows, too. They 


130 The Wonderful Land of Up 

were big box kites, if you know what that is, square 
like boxes, only very light as they were made of paper. 
Both were dark purple and were alike in every way 
except that on the front of one was a big white letter S 
and on the other a white W. 

“Well!” The king put the tips of his fingers to- 
gether and sort of played a little tune on them. “What’s 
the matter with these fine fellows?” 

“We found them hiding!” said a policeman kite. 

The two box kites shivered. 

“Hiding! Oh, ho! How now!” cried the king. 
“What were you hiding for?” 

“We don’t want to be sent hack,” begged both the 
kites together. 

“Sent hack? Sent back where?” inquired the king. 

“You tell!” said S to W. 

“No, you tell!” said W to S. “You began the word.” 

“Hurry up!” said the king impatiently. “Out with 
it. What was the trouble?” 

“Well,” said S slowly. “We spoiled the trade.” 

“Tell it all,” commanded the king. “I don’t under- 
stand.” 

“You see, it was this way,” said the kite, trembling. 
“As we are box kites we go up very high in the air, 
and Mr. Pettigrew, the manager of the Snow Soap 
Company, thought of using us in advertising. So he 
had eleven of us made with a different letter on the 
front of each, and an electric battery put in every one to 
make a light so the letters would shine at night. When 
we were all in a row with the proper spaces between us, 
we spelled, ‘Use Snow Soap.’ The idea was to send us 


The Land of Lost Kites 131 

high up in the air at night away over the house tops, 
so that when the little girls and boys were getting ready 
for bed they would look out of their windows and see 
our great bright letters and then ask their mamas next 
day to buy Snow Soap. 

“Well, my battery wouldn’t work after 1 got up there. 
Try as I would I could do nothing with it, then W here 



On the front of one was a letter ‘‘S,” on the front of 
other a 


got out of order next, and there we were up there in the 
air spelling, ‘Use No Soap !’ And all the little boys were 
so pleased when they looked out and saw us we could 
hear them yelling clear up in the sky. I could have died 
of mortification. Amd Mr. Pettigrew never saw us be- 
cause he had neuralgia in his tooth and forgot to look 
out of his window; so there we stayed all night and 
everybody in the country saw us. And people thought 
the president had put us there, or Mr. Hoover, on ac- 
count of the war, as they were accustomed to being told 



132 The Wonderful Land of Up 

to do without so many other things. So everybody 
stopped buying soap right away, of course. 

“But W and I managed to break our strings and get 
away and we came here to hide. And please, Mr. King, 
I mean please. Your Majesty, don’t send us back.” 

The king was so pleased with the joke — for it really 
was a joke, you know — that he laughed until he cried. 

“Indeed I won’t,” he said finally, in a very kind 
voice, and wiping his eyes. Like everybody else, the 
king liked people who made him laugh. “I’ll make you 
my light-bearers instead, for I think your batteries can 
be fixed, and Mr. Pettigrew can make new kites to take 
your place. That will do. Next!” called the king as 
the delighted box kites waddled away to be fixed. 

A bird kite was the next one to be brought before the 
King. 

“What’s wrong with this chap?” asked the King. 
“What did this fellow do?” 

“Please, Your Majesty, he’s a thief,” said the guard. 

“Well, what have you to say for yourself?"^ the king 
asked the kite, not unkindly. 

“Please, kind Mr. King, I mean, please. Your 
Majesty, I didn’t mean to steal. It was my tail.” 

“What! Your tail stole something! What non- 
sense!” 

“I mean it was my tail they said I stole.” 

“Tell me all about it,” said the king. 

“Well, Tommy Thompson’s daddy bought me for 
him one day in March. And Tommy’s mama being 
away, he looked all over the house for something to tie 
onto me for a tail. So finally he went into his mama’s 


The Land of Lost Kites 133 

room, and there on the dressing table lay a long string 
of pearl beads with a fan on the end. Tommy thought 
this would make a fine tail, so he unhooked the fan and 
tied the string of beads onto me, and then took me out 
and sailed me away up into the sky. And when the 
string broke I just had to keep on flying, the wind was 
so strong, and pretty soon I arrived here. When the 
guards saw me they thought I had stolen the beads — 
just as though I were a magpie instead of a perfectly 
respectable bird kite.” 

“Well,” said the king thoughtfully, “I guess you’re 
excused. I’ll send one of my fairies back with the beads, 
and you may go where you wish.” 

When the bird kite had thanked him and retired, the 
guard said: “That is all to-day. Your Majesty. The 
rest of the kites have been very good.” 

“That’s fine!” said the king, taking off his crown and 
wiping his head with a purple silk handkerchief. “Clear 
all these people out then. I’ve got company and I want 
to have a word with them in peace.” 

And stepping down off his throne he came toward 
Rose, and Dick, and Jim Dandy, and Wisp with a wel- 
coming smile on his face. 



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CHAPTER X 


HAPPY TOWN 




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Chapter X: Happy Town 


A S the king approached, Wisp whispered hurriedly 
to the children. “Fall down quickly on your 
knees and bump your foreheads three times on 
the ground.” Which they did instantly, for now that 
this wonderful person was so near they were frightened 
almost out of their senses. It was the first time in their 
lives they had seen a really truly king — and to know that 
he was a fairy king only made it more wonderful. 

“Rise, good people,” they heard him say, and peeping 
out of the corners of their eyes to be sure he meant them, 
they scrambled to their feet again to find the king hold- 
ing his hand out to them palm down. 

This was rather confusing, for it didn’t look as though 
he was trying to shake hands with them at all. But 
Wisp settled it by saying in another whisper, “Kiss it !” 

So Rose kissed the back of the king’s hand, and then 
Dick did the same and then Wisp — for General Handy 
Men have to kiss their master’s hand, too, even if they 
do happen to be fairies themselves. Dandy, however, 
just stood up and arched his back and said, “Meow.” 
I mean he said, “Long Live the King,” for he couldn’t 
kiss the king’s hand of course. It might have sounded 
like “meow” to you, but being in fairyland it sounded 
to the children like the other. That’s another thing 
people say to kings, whether they mean it or not. 

137 


138 The Wonderful Land of Up 

All this time the king’s eyes were twinkling and 
twinkling as though he wanted to laugh. Then all at 
once he did laugh. He pushed his high crown back, 
as he had a habit of doing, and which worried the chil- 
dren so, and laughed and laughed and laughed. 

“Oh, ho, ho! Oh, ho, ho!” he roared. “That’s a bet- 
ter joke than the one the kites told me. This is cer- 
tainly going to be one of my good days when so many 
things happen to make me laugh!” 

Nobody else saw anything to laugh at, but suddenly 
an idea occurred to Rose. “Did it tickle?” she asked 
curiously. “Is that what makes you laugh?” 

At this the king suddenly stopped, which was queer, 
for now there really was something to laugh at. Even 
Wisp laughed at Rose’s question, and Jim Dandy was 
so shocked that he stroked his whiskers hurriedly. 

“No, it didn’t tickle,” said the king soberly. “I was 
just laughing because I had a funny idea, — ^not a 
funny idea exactly, but a comforting thought. And 
whenever I have a comforting thought it breaks out 
into a laugh. Do you want to know what I was laugh- 
ing at?” 

“Oh, yes, if you please!” begged both children 
eagerly. 

“Well, — it was this. I should have been kissing your 
hands, instead of you kissing mine.” 

The children looked puzzled, but the king hurried to 
explain. “It’s the red crosses you are wearing. Don’t 
you suppose I know that instead of spending your birth- 
day dollars on candy, you gave them to the Red Cross 


139 



Happy Town 


‘‘O, ho, ho,” laughed the King. 


to help the sick soldiers? So you are really a little king 
and queen of the Red Cross and I’m nothing but a 
foolish old fairy king.” 

Then Wisp spoke up, for it pained him to hear his 
dear old master talk so. “But, Your Majesty,” said he, 
“you do good all the time. You are always hunting up 
some one to make happy, just as you told me to take 
these children on a few adventures while their daddy 
is away.” 

“Oh, hush!” said the King with a wave of his hand, 
which wasn’t really very kingly at all, now was it? 


140 The Wonderful Land of Up 

“That’s my job, to keep people happy. But when 
children give birthday dollars to soldiers, why— why I’m 
just not in it, that’s all. But come along, everybody, 
we may as well be moving along while we’re talking. 
I’ve arranged for a little tea party at the palace to-day 
in honor of my guests and we mustn’t let the fried 
chicken get cold or the ice cream get hot. Come on, 
kiddies,” and the jolly fairy king took the children by 
the hand and started away. Wisp and Jim Dandy fol- 
lowing. The king really looked very funny with his 
long purple train dragging yards behind him and his 
high crown sliding over one ear. His face was round 
and jolly and he really didn’t look any more like a 
fairy than I do, and I assure you I don’t look like a 
fairy at all. 

The children had lost all fear of him now, and they 
had started to ask questions. 

“Is the palace in Kite Land?” asked Dick, for you 
know that is where they were when they first saw the 
king, at the trial of the kites. 

“Why, bless my soul, no,” said the king, stopping 
suddenly. “My but I am getting absent-minded. We 
have to go to Happy Town and that isn’t in Kite Land 
at all. We might have kept walking on and on and 
fallen right over the edge if you hadn’t said that, Dick. 
Let me see how we’d better go. Which do you pre- 
fer, a magic carpet, or a wishing ring, or just your 
apple tree elevator?” 

“The elevator,” cried the children. 

“That’s right, nothing like an old friend. Here, 
Wisp, that’s your job. Run it along!” 


Happy Town 141 

And just as quick as a clock can give one tick, there 
was the elevator, apple branches and all, and they all 
got in. 

It did seem queer to be in the elevator with the fairy 
king himself after they had heard so much about him. 
Before this he had only been talk. Now he was real, 
and Wisp moved the brake this way and that very im- 
portantly as though he were fairly bursting with pride. 

Then in a little while it stopped and there they were 
right in the midst of the merry, noisy city of Happy 
Town. Such a drumming of drums, blowing of horns, 
jangling of bells and screaming of whistles. It sounded 
like New Year’s Eve, and the Fourth of July and Hal- 
lowe’en all rolled into one. 

“There, there, there!” said the king. “That will do. 
Too much is enough, and enough is plenty!” 

And instantly the noise ceased. 

And suddenly the children were surrounded by a lot 
of the friends they had met on their travels with Wisp. 
There were Reddy Bounce and Blue Jumper, the bal- 
loons, nodding a welcome; and Mr. Crane and some of 
the storks from the Land of Lost Feathers; and the 
stove, and broom, and cow, and rooster from the Land 
of Everything; and the mist fairies; and the soap bub- 
bles ; and the dandelion brothers ; and the nose that led 
them through the Land of Good Smells; and the two 
kites S and W who were ordered to be light-bearers to 
the king. And last but not least there was Mother 
Nature herself, beautiful and kindly, waiting to greet 
the children. 

She stooped and kissed them both tenderly. “I was 


142 The Wonderful Land of Up 

so busy the day you came to school,” she said, “I 
couldn’t even stop to say how do you do, but I was 
glad to have you and hope you’ll come again some 
time to some of my other schools.” 

“Thank you,” said Rose and Dick and Dandy. 
Dandy then felt it was time to give a report of him- 
self and spoke up. “I haven’t teased the canary since 
that day,” he said, waving his beautiful fox-like tail 
proudly. 

“That’s a nice cat!” And Mother Nature fondly 
stroked his silky fur. 

“I couldn’t get along without Mother Nature,” said 
the king affectionately. “She’s a wonder — ^keeps things 
going all the time, in the world and under the world 
and over the world.” 

“I was just thinking,” said Rose suddenly. “Are 
all good things up?” 

The king tilted his crown and scratched his head 
thoughtfully again before he answered. Really it was 
a good thing there weren’t children around all the time 
asking questions or I’m afraid that crown would cer- 
tainly have come to grief. 

“No, not all — ^but nearly,” he said finally. “You’ll 
find the answer in a little frame on your grandma’s desk, 
right under that ‘Birdseye View of Silverport.’ It 
says in golden letters, ‘When the outlook is bad, try 
the uplook.’ So I guess most good things are up. Of 
course you haven’t seen all of the Wonderful Land 
of Up yet, my dears, just the part that children under- 
stand. But when you are older there are still many 
places you will like, I’m sure, and when you are still 


Happy Town 143 

older there are still more places, and when you are 
quite old there will yet be wonderful things for you. 
But there, there! I’m sounding like a sermon and 
this isn’t Sunday at all. And all my guests must cer- 
tainly be hungry. Come along to the palace, every- 
body, and we’ll have our party.” 

The palace was at the end of the street and sur- 
rounded by a park full of flowers and trees. And out 
under the trees on the smooth green grass was set an 
immense table full of goodies. It really was consid- 
erate of the king, don’t you think, to have the party 
outside instead of inside, for the cow would have had 
a terrible time trying to sit at the table in the big state 
dining-room. Also the stove and the crane. 

Out here people had their choice of sitting or stand- 
ing, so it was very comfortable. The king sat at one 
end of the long table and Mother Nature at the other, 
serving lemonade and cakes and all sorts of good things. 
And the king at his end of the table dished out the fried 
chicken and mashed potatoes and everything like that. 

Of course if your mama were having an afternoon 
tea, she wouldn’t have fried chicken or mashed potatoes, 
but then — your mama doesn’t live in fairyland and she 
isn’t a king. 

And then they had speeches. I forgot to tell you 
that the watched pot from Mist Land was there and 
he made the first speech. ‘‘Ladies and gentlemen,” 
he said, “I suppose you notice I have lost my hat (his 
dunce-cap, he meant) and I am proud to say I’ve lost 
it forever. I’m not watched any more and I boil all 
the time,” and he blew out a hot steamy breath to prove 


144 The Wonderful Land of Up 

his words. “The truth is that everybody is too busy 
these days down in the earth to waste time watching 
anything, and as soon as people stop wasting time, if 
you notice, something happens.’’ Then he sat down. 

The king applauded and so did everybody else, for 
it really was quite a good speech for the poor old 
Watched Pot whom everybody thought never amounted 
to anything before. 

And then one of the storks got up and explained to 
Wisp that he had learned the difference between a por- 
cupine and a baby and was very sorry he had been so 
stupid. 

And the peanut got up when the stork had finished 
and apologised for asking people a riddle about him- 
self without answering it, and explained that he grew 
on a low bush on sandy ground way down south where 
it was warm, and hoped they would all come some time 
to see how it was done. 

And the stove told how all the poor cyclone things 
had got safely back home, and the rooster said all the 
eggs had hatched finely but one, and it was a duck and 
had disgraced him. 

And a Chinese or Esquimese soap-bubble got up next 
and explained that the last word in their poem was 
“obliged,” but he had to say “much obli” at the end 
to make it rhyme. 

And everybody said something, and everything was 
explained so there would be no more trouble for the 
king, as he didn’t want any one to have any trouble 
in the Wonderful Land of Up, especially in Happy 
Town. “I’ve decided, too,” he said to the nose, “that 


Happy Town 


145 



you’d better unlock the door and let out Mustard, and 
Sourkrout, and Boiling Vinegar, and so on. Only tell 
them to spread out so they won’t be so strong. After 
a while when people get accustomed to them they will 
think they are good smells.” 



146 The Wonderful Land of Up 

But, like everything else, the party came to an end 
and everything was eaten up. It was Wisp who said 
it was getting late and, as they had had two adventures 
that day instead of one, they had better be going. Their 
mother would be looking for them. 

“Good-bye, Your Majesty! I’ve had a very nice 
time,” said Rose. 

“Good-bye, Your Majesty, IVe ” began Dick, 

and Dandy too was probably about to say the same 
thing. 

But the king put up his hand. “Can’t you just give 
a poor old lonely fairy a kiss?” he begged. “Don’t 
‘Your Majesty’ me any more, please.” 

So the children did as he asked and kissed the king 
so impulsively his gold crown did fall off at last and got 
a big dent in it. But he only laughed. 

“Good-bye, kiddies; come again,” he said. 

“Good-bye, King,” called the children, waving their 
hands as they went. “Good-bye, everybody.” 

And Wisp, faithful little fellow, bundled them safely 
into the little elevator and let them down very, very 
gently to the orchard. They were getting so, so tired 
and so, so sleepy. 

In fact, by the time they arrived, their heads had 
gone over and their eyes were tightly closed. Then 
the little fairy bent over each one and tenderly kissed 
the little rosy cheeks; then he touched the sleeping cat 
on the nose to make him dream of a little white mouse, 
and giving a final look around in the quiet, peaceful 
orchard to make sure that everything was all right, he 
vanished. 






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